PORT ANGELES – We reported last week that 24th District Representative Mike Chapman has made it a priority to try to get state funding to install a boulevard-style median along the length of the accident-prone Morse Creek section of Highway 101 east of Port Angeles.
The stretch of road has seen a number of fatal accidents. Most recently, 19-year-old Brooke Bedinger of Sequim died when she lost control of her motorcycle and was hit by an oncoming pickup truck.
Bedinger’s family and friends have lobbied to put jersey barriers in the center of the highway, but DOT Regional Director John Wynands told KONP that a barrier might actually be more dangerous than having nothing at all, and that a wide median would be preferable.
Wynands says that a plan is in place to make less expensive improvements at Morse Creek this summer while Chapman works to get the $5 million median project approved during the current legislative session.
If Chapman is successful this year, Wynands says the boulevard project would likely begin in the summer of 2020 and take 3 months or so to complete.