By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – The City of Port Angeles has been selected to receive a $16.13 million grant that will help fund the big dream of joining together 34 multi-use trail segments across the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas to create a seamless trail system from the Puget Sound to the Pacific coast at La Push.

The RAISE grant, an acronym for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, will fund the planning and design of the Puget Sound to Pacific (PS2P) Project.

We asked Port Angeles City Manager Nathan West, now the grant has been announced, what comes next.

He said the next steps include executing an agreement with the US Dept. of Transportation, putting together interlocal agreements with the other 12 partners in the project, and then beginning the search for architect and engineering services to design the trail system. West said his staff would not be working alone in that process.

“Right now, the plan is to have each of the other agencies involved. They’ll likely do their own request-for-proposals and get their own consultant teams on board to do their portions of it. So, much of the grant is apportioned out to the different entities and then it all filters back up with the City of Port Angeles doing the ultimate administrative submittals to US Department of Transportation. But, a really great opportunity to take a regional picture to the importance of this trail and see everyone come together.”

Co-applicant agencies include Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties; the cities of Bainbridge Island, Port Angeles, Poulsbo, Port Townsend, Sequim and Forks; the Quileute and Suquamish Tribes; the Port of Port Townsend; and WSDOT.

As we mentioned, the westernmost end of the trail will be in La Push. The other end of the trail will start at the ferry terminals at Bainbridge Island, Kingston, and Port Townsend.

Beyond that, the PS2P Trail will also serve as the western-most end of the 3,400-mile Great American Rail-Trail, which has been under way for years.

West said the funding also qualifies for use on the Race Street project from the waterfront to Olympic National Park’s Visitor Center, and planned improvements on the Olympic Discovery Trail.

When viewed as a whole, it’s a project that will benefit our region for generations to come.

“Yeah, no, it’s a tremendous benefit to the city of Port Angeles and Clallam County and, obviously, beyond that. Each of these jurisdictions will greatly benefit from that connectivity. I think the joy that it brings to our local residents and families who get to enjoy and appreciate that trail, as well as our visitors, is something to just be so grateful for. To see the hard work of some of the founders of the original Olympic Discovery Trail be furthered in this way, to just really expand it so that we see something going all the way from Puget Sound to the coast, that’s a big deal.”

West made a point to thank Senators Cantwell and Murray, along with Congressman Kilmer and Gov. Inslee for pulling together at the federal level to make the grant a reality.

To learn more about this project and the PS2P Collaborative, please visit www.ps2p.org or email info@ps2p.org.