Yelm makes progress on Rhoton Road reconstruction

Yelm city councilors helped the city make strides toward an upgrade to Rhoton Road Northwest as they unanimously authorized Mayor Joe DePinto to make a professional services agreement with Parametrix for the street reconstruction’s preliminary to 60% design plans.

Yelm Public Works Director Cody Colt, during a Yelm City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 27, said the professional services agreement with Parametrix is not to exceed the amount of $848,735.15. This includes 60% preliminary engineering, environmental documentation, plans and specifications for “Rhoton Road Northwest Reconstruction Phase 1: Preliminary to 60% Design,” according to Yelm City Council’s agenda packet.

Colt said the reason for 60% design plans, specifically, is because the amount of right-of-way needed has yet to be determined. Once the amount of right-of-way space for the project has been calculated, an amendment will be placed in order to finalize the outright design and the process of right-of-way acquisition.

“The area through Rhoton Road, there’s quite a few areas that narrow and grow. With right-of-way acquisition, we need to make sure that we have all of the space for storm swells, sidewalks,” Colt said. “This is completely grant funded. The project right now is around $848,000, and there is more money for the construction phase. That will be allocated to us from the state and federal government.”

In an interview with the Nisqually Valley News last January, Colt said that the project will likely be done over the course of summer 2026, with it concluding in August or September of next year. In addition to a full reconstruction of Rhoton Road, the project will add sidewalks and a shared-use path to connect to the nearby Prairie Line Trail and the Loop Trail. Colt anticipates this creating a pedestrian pathway for those increasing their step count, runners, cyclists and dog walkers to enjoy.

During a Yelm City Council meeting last October, City of Yelm project manager Patrick Hughes reported to council that the Rhoton Road reconstruction project will completely revamp the road to accommodate an anticipated increase of traffic on it once the long-awaited Yelm Loop project is completed.

“We’re probably looking at a spring of ’26 construction start. I have financing already set for the preliminary engineering phase. We received an $850,000 grant for federal transportation funds,” Hughes said during an October 2024 Yelm City Council meeting. “These transportation funds, if there’s anything good about transportation funds, is there’s no match. This will be 100% funded through federal grants.”