The City of Yelm is inching closer to construction of the Yelm Loop, with the City Council approving an interlocal agreement with Thurston County that will ease the critical area permitting process for the state Route 510 and Yelm Loop Phase 2 project.
When complete, the Yelm Loop will redirect traffic coming from Interstate 5 away from Yelm Avenue, which already faces its own traffic issues.
The loop will span from the roundabout northwest of Yelm on Highway 510, past Cullens Road, over Yelm Creek and beyond to Wilkensen Road. Eventually, the road often referred to as the “Yelm bypass” will conclude in city limits near Walmart.
Yelm City Engineer Pat Hughes said during the Yelm City Council study session on Jan. 9 that he estimates the project will go out to bid for construction in January of 2025.
“As part of that, there’s going to be quite a bit of permits that need to be reviewed and issued. One of those is the critical area permitting,” Hughes said. “The trouble with this project, Yelm Loop Phase 2, is that its corridor leaves the city and goes into the county, back inside the city limits, back out again and finally back into city limits near Walmart.”
Hughes said locations considered critical areas include wetlands, floodplains, protected tree species and more.
“It’s going to be a difficult project to permit with the various agencies. With that in mind, Thurston County has agreed to have the city serve as the lead agency for review and issuance of critical area permits,” Hughes said. “We drafted an interlocal agreement which states that.”
Yelm City Councilors unanimously approved the interlocal agreement, keeping the Yelm Loop project in motion and on schedule for construction to begin in the distant future.
