Pierce County may decide in about two months whether to close part of a county road in Frederickson as part of a manufacturer's plans to expand its plant. James Hardie Building Products has asked for a section of 180th Street East to be closed so the company can add on to its manufacturing facility across the area now occupied by the road and onto nearby vacant land. The expansion can be built only if the county vacates that portion of the road, company offiicals have told the county. As part of the request, discussion has included a proposed extension of 50th Avenue East, the street where the James Hardie plant is located, as a new north-south-áconnection to 176th Street East. That would improve traffic flow and safety, according to James Hardie. June is the earliest that the County Council can vote to close and vacate 180th. That would be after public hearings and reviews by county officials of potential impacts of a closure on traffic and emergency-response vehicles. A Frederickson-Clover Creek Community Council meeting last Saturday included a presentation by County Councilman Jim McCune on the road-closure proposal. James Hardie officials have said the plant expansion would generate jobs in the county.
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