In the next several years, the Washington State Department of Transportation is planning to expand Highway 20 on north Whidbey Island in an effort to make the roadway safer for motorists.

One of the first steps in the process was to buy the Deception Pass Grocery Store and adjoining miniature golf course near Cornet Bay Road for $262,000.

DOT Design Engineer Patrick Fuller said the building was encroaching on the DOT’s right-of-way and the state needed the property to widen and adjust the roadway.

He added that the DOT couldn’t expand the roadway toward the west side because any construction could threaten the wells that supply water to the neighboring development.

The grocery and mini-golf course property are the first pieces of property that the DOT bought concerning a project that is set to begin in 2006.

Fuller said the owners originally wanted to improve the property but approached the DOT after learning of plans to change the roadway.

“They didn’t want to invest in a property just to have us tear it down,” Fuller said. The DOT was able to find money to buy the property.

In addition to the grocery store property, the DOT wants to buy some land in front of Nick’s Deception Pass Saloon to accommodate future construction. Fuller said that negotiations with the owner haven’t started.

The DOT wants to use the property to add a left-turn lane to Ducken Road and Deception Circle Road. To accomplish that, the DOT has to align those two intersections. A right-turn lane from northbound Highway 20 to Ducken Road will also be built.

Because of the alterations, access to Highway 20 from Old Cornet Bay Road will be closed.

In addition to the work planned for Ducken Road, the DOT is going to spend the next couple of years negotiating right-of-way acquisitions to buy strips of land from property owners from Troxell Road to Cornet Bay Road. Fuller added that the DOT is planning to use the land to widen the shoulders and provide a safer roadside.

Fuller said the DOT hopes to have the purchases complete by the spring of 2005 and construction to begin following year.

You can reach News-Times reporter Nathan Whalen at nwhalen@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.