Bainbridge Island has been hoping for a roundabout at Day Road and Highway 305 for years, but it looks like it will be getting a surprise one at High School Road long before that one.

The City Council discussed both at a meeting Dec. 17.

Mayor Joe Deets explained that he is part of a Highway 305 work group that also consists of representatives from Kitsap County, Kitsap Transit, Poulsbo, the state Department of Transportation and the Suquamish Tribe. They’ve been tasked with spending $40.3 million in state funds to improve mobility and safety along 305. A roundabout at Day Road was second in priority.

However, Deets said they have run out of funds. The Day Road roundabout would cost almost $15.38 million. About $2.5 million more is needed, but the council decided it shouldn’t have to pay because it would be more of a regional effort to reduce travel time to the ferry in BI.

Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos said she would support going after regional funds to try to come up with the $2.5 million. However, the next funding schedule for those is 2026 to apply and 2029 to receive the funds.

“It’s not gonna get cheaper,” Deets said of the project, but also agreeing the city should not pony up the difference.

It was also mentioned that KT will be building a park-and-ride there regardless of the roundabout because it already has the funds for that. That project will include a storm drain retention facility.

Meanwhile, some councilmembers were still complaining about the High School Road at Highway 305 roundabout the DOT only told them about a few weeks ago.

Councilmember Leslie Schneider went so far as to say she wanted an inquiry into the process to see when the council really should have been told. Deets said it was never talked about at Highway 305 work group meetings.

However, Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki said he didn’t think there was anything “nefarious” about the project. The DOT decided to do it urgently after a recent report says that Highway 305 at High School Road is one of the most dangerous intersections in the state.

City manager Blair King asked the council if it wanted to give any input on the roundabout there. He was asking because councilmembers earlier had said they want pedestrian and bicycle crossings to be an important part of it as that’s where the Sound to Olympics Trail goes from one side of Highway 305 to the other.

Schneider said she’d love to see an underpass there for nonmotorized traffic, similar to what’s at Highway 305 and Johnson Road near Poulsbo, which she said is not as busy of an area.

But Moriwaki shot that down as “not a plausible idea” because of the expense.

The two also disagreed when Moriwaki said: “Suggesting things at this point is unnecessary. We don’t have an idea what it’s going to look like. There are a lot of unknowns; we’re making a lot of assumptions.”

But for Schneider, “the sooner the better” when it comes to suggesting what the roundabout should look like. “It’s an incredibly important intersection for us. We can’t start soon enough.”

King took a shot at DOT by saying he doesn’t want the city to do what the state agency did and wait until the last minute to give its input on the roundabout. He added DOT plans to design it next year and begin construction in summer of 2027.

Hytopoulos said she wouldn’t feel comfortable giving advice on the design as its elements are high level. However, she would support the lowest cost as long as it’s functional.

Councilmember Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said she doesn’t want it to be too cheap because of the importance of High School Road to BI. But she questioned if DOT would even listen to their input. “We can say what we want all day long, but if they’re not open to it, what’s the point?”

Schneider said while she complained about the process she really does think a roundabout there would be a “huge improvement for pedestrians.” But it would need to be a single-lane roundabout because a double-lane one would not be as safe for those on foot.

A fish barrier removal project is also part of the roundabout project. While DOT is paying for part of it, the state agency is asking the city of BI to pay for one on its property.

City Public Works director Chris Wierzbicki said the culvert is just west of the intersection near the Chevron gas station. He said it could cost anywhere from $3.5 million to $10 million because of its complexity.

“We are on the hook for paying for that fish passage,” Deets said, adding the city could apply for outside funding to help in the effort.

King said DOT wants to do the roundabout and fish passage projects at the same time to “reduce inconvenience to the public.”

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