Oct. 9, 2006
Investing in the "infrastructure of our future"
Sims proposes upgrades, repairs to roads, wastewater and solid waste systems
Calling it a fundamental responsibility of government, Executive Ron Sims today outlined millions of dollars in “bricks and mortar” infrastructure budget proposals for 2007 that would help safeguard water quality, maintain key transportation corridors and ensure that future growth can be accommodated.
“A thriving community with a strong economy and a high quality of life is possible when we invest in our bricks and mortar -- pipes, roads and bridges – the basic blood and bones of a vital community,” said Sims. “Just like replacing the roof on your home, it’s not exciting but it is essential to our basic well-being and is cost-effective.”
Noting that the county’s population is expected to expand by 280,000 people in the next 20 years, Sims said “The national news covers the grave consequences of neglecting basic infrastructure from the floods in New Orleans to the public health crisis when sewage spilled in Waikiki. Investing in the infrastructure of our future -- wastewater treatment facilities, modern garbage collection systems, roads and bridges -- will help safeguard our strong economy, personal health and our quality of life.”
Protecting Water Quality
A major portion of Sims proposed infrastructure spending in 2007 is approximately $694 million for more than a dozen wastewater treatment projects throughout King County, $330 million more than he proposed last year. Sims said wastewater treatment represents essential infrastructure for supporting and sustaining smart, well-planned growth, and it is the No. 1 most effective method for eliminating water pollution and improving water quality.
Noting that King County is in the midst of the largest investment in wastewater treatment in 40 years, Sims said “We need to build the pipes and pumps to protect the environment and plan for future growth. These investments advance the agenda of the Puget Sound Partnership and will help to clean and protect Puget Sound.”
The work will include rehabilitating aging facilities, expanding existing facilities and building new facilities such as the Brightwater treatment system to provide enough capacity for the region’s growing population. The Brightwater plant, when completed in 2010, will be capable of treating 36 million gallons of wastewater a day.
Included in the construction is the reclaimed water “backbone,” a pipe system that will be able to deliver highly treated water to customers for a number of non-drinking uses, including watering landscaping.
A new wastewater treatment plants are expected to be completed in 2008 on Vashon Island. Also, in Carnation the county will spend $12.6 million to complete a wastewater treatment facility.
“The partnership between King County and the citizens of Carnation serves as an excellent example of how small cities and the County can work together to benefit our region and our environment,” Said Carnation City Councilmember Stuart Lisk. "The Carnation City Council is extremely appreciative of the work Executive Sims has done on behalf of the Carnation sewer project including this investment in the waste water treatment facility.”
Modernizing garbage collection systems
Sims is also proposing investments in modernizing the county’s garbage collection system to accommodate a growing population, industry changes, and to provide safe, efficient and cost-effective services to customers.
The new First Northeast Transfer and Recycling Station, which is proposed to receive $1 million in construction funds in 2007, will be a model for future facilities throughout King County – indeed, the nation, Sims said.
“This facility will be the benchmark by which all future solid waste transfer and recycling stations are judged,” he said. “This is one of the most amazing projects we’ve ever built.”
Designed from the ground up to be user friendly, energy efficient and a benefit to the surrounding environment, the First Northeast facility includes such features as translucent wall and ceiling panels to improve lighting and reduce the demand for additional lighting. Solar panels will capture the sun’s energy for use on-site, while a rainwater collection system will save more than 300,000 gallons of potable water a year.
Purified rainwater will be piped into Thornton Creek, a salmon-bearing stream with headwaters near the construction site.
A new Bow Lake transfer station with environmental features modeled after First Northeast will receive $5 million for design development.
Flood protection
With the recent catastrophic failures of infrastructure elsewhere in the nation in mind, Sims has submitted a plan to the County Council that identifies a range of $179 million to $335 million in
priority repairs and upgrades over the next decade to the county’s aging flood-prevention infrastructure, and recommends creating a county-wide flood control district to fund the plan.
Sims said his proposal would repair and improve aging flood control structures, ensure that related projects and programs that protect public safety and the benefits of river corridors are adequately funded, and identify and address new flood risks as they emerge.
“Shoring up” Vashon Island Seawall
King County is also undertaking both short and long-term projects to repair aging seawalls on Vashon Island. In the short term, over the next 12 months, the county will spend $598,000 to repair aging seawalls that protect Dockton Road Southwest, Southwest Quartermaster Drive and the Vashon Highway. In the long term, the county will invest $44 million to design and construct a more permanent solution for three large sections of failing seawall on the island.
Replacing vital bridges
The county will invest in the construction of two major bridges in unincorporated King County that provide vital transportation links for the local community. Sims is proposing $1.5 million to complete the $27.6 million Tolt Bridge project and $14 million to start construction on the $21.5 million project to replace the 92-year-old Mt. Si Bridge.
Also, the Road Services Division will begin a new $16 million program with $1.5 million to accelerate the replacement of 57 aging short span bridges beginning in 2007. High priority bridges will be re-constructed within 10 years, rather than 20.
Other important infrastructure projects proposed for 2007 include:
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New wastewater projects in West Seattle and the Magnolia neighborhood to reduce the number of combined sewer overflows that occur in older sections of King County’s wastewater treatment system during heavy rains;
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Continued clean-up of contaminated sediments with local, state and federal governments and private industries along the lower Duwamish waterway as part of a federal Superfund project;
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Building new state-of-the art wastewater pump stations in Kirkland, Bellevue and Shoreline, upgrading pump stations in West Seattle, and adding additional storage capacity to make these facilities safer, more efficient and more reliable.
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Continued regional water supply planning through the Cascade Water Alliance, including developing new water sources, and new ways of sharing and conserving water.
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Ongoing maintenance of the existing network of roads and bridges, including countywide overlay.
“These are the very investments that communities must make so that they are prepared for both the future growth that we all know is inevitable, but also to avoid the types of disasters that we’ve seen elsewhere in the nation,” Sims said. “Building and maintaining a sound infrastructure is essential.”
Proposed 2007 King County Road Services Division Capital Improvement Projects
- Vashon Seawalls
In the coming years, both short and long-term projects will ensure the preservation of vital infrastructure on Vashon Island. Over the next 12 months, repairs to three aging seawalls will be completed along Dockton Road Southwest, Southwest Quartermaster Drive and the Vashon Highway. These seawalls either support or protect the county's road system on the island.
Estimated cost: $598,000
In the long term, a more permanent solution will be developed for two large sections of failing seawall. One is the seawall that supports more than half a mile of the Vashon Highway along Quartermaster Harbor. The other is along Dockton Road on both sides of Tramp Harbor. The goal is to design and construct solutions to preserve the roads for the next 80 to 100 years.
Estimated cost: $44 million
- Simonds Road Northeast
Location: Simonds Road Northeast north of 100th Avenue Northeast
As a result of heavy and steady rainfall in January 2006, saturated soil caused the slope to fail. The hillside is showing signs of movement and one lane uphill has been closed to traffic. Reinforce slope embankment and restore roadway surface to pre-slope failure conditions.
Estimated cost: $443,000
- Tolt Hill Bridge (200394)
Location: Snoqualmie River @ Northeast Tolt Hill Road
Replace the Tolt Bridge spanning the Snoqualmie River. The bridge was built in 1922 and is posted for one legal load at a time due to its low sufficiency rating and narrow bridge width. The bridge is located on substandard vertical and horizontal curves, which create sight distance problems. The asphalt overlay on the bridge deck is also deteriorating.
Estimated cost: $27.6 million
- Northeast Woodinville-Duvall Road @ 212th Avenue Northeast (101404)
Construct westbound left turn land and rebuild signal.
Estimated cost: $3.6 million
- Rutherford Slough Bridge (200107)
Location: Southeast 39th Place northeast of Fall City
This project is one of two bridges in the first cycle of short span bridge replacement program. This bridge will be replaced along with bridge #249A.
Estimated cost: $475,000
- 396th Drive Southeast - Culvert Replacement (200206)
Location: 200 feet north of Southeast 60th Street, northeast of Snoqualmie
Replace existing twin culverts with box culvert and re-grade downstream to repair the undercutting of the stream.
Estimated cost: $999,000
- Neal Bridge (200207)
Location: Neal Road Southeast north of Fall City
This project is one of two bridges in the first cycle of short span bridge replacement. This bridge will be replaced along with bridge #920A.
Estimated cost: $469,000
- Wagners Bridge (200604)
Location: North Fork Road Southeast over the North Fork of Snoqualmie River
Replace the Wagners Bridge. This project will reduce seismic vulnerability and load limitation and will remove sight distance problems.
Estimated cost: $3 million
- Mount Si Bridge (200994)
Location: Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River near North Bend
Replace the structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridge. The replacement bridge will have two travel lanes and two shoulders and a sidewalk for non-motorized traffic.
Estimated cost: $21.5 million
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Southeast 304th Street @ 124th Avenue Southeast (300205)
Construct one of two possible alternatives, either a new signal and turn lanes on all four intersection legs or construct a roundabout.
Estimated cost: $3.2 million
- South 132nd Street Roundabout (300207)
Location: South Langston Road to 80th Avenue South in Skyway
Design and construct a modern roundabout at the intersection of South 132nd Street, South Langston Street and 80 th Avenue South.
Estimated cost: $500,000
- South 128th Street (300306)
Location: 69th Avenue South to South 127th Street in Skyway
Construct curb, gutter and sidewalk on the north side of the road.
Estimated cost: $399,000
- 28th Avenue Southwest (300406)
Location: Southwest 104th Street to Southwest 116th Street in White Center
Construct pedestrian pathway on west side of road.
Estimated cost: $717,000
- South 272th Way (300407)
Location: Lake Fenwick Road South and 55th Avenue South near Kent
Construct a soldier pile wall and drainage to stabilize the hillside from sliding into roadway. Roadway ditch will be restored.
Estimated cost: $287,000
- South 133rd Street / South 132nd Street (300505)
Location: Martin Luther King Way to 76th Avenue South in Skyway
Construct a walkway on the north side of the roadway.
Estimated cost: $618,000
- 124th Avenue Southeast (400206)
Location: Southeast 202nd Place to Southeast 208th Street northeast of Kent
Construct a pedestrian pathway on west side of road.
Estimated cost: $455,000
- Little Soos Creek at Southeast 240th Street (400207)
Location: Between 172nd Avenue Southeast and 178th Place Southeast east of Kent
Remove existing 24-inch pipe and replace with four-sided pre-cast concrete box culvert.
Estimated cost: $516,000
- 140th Avenue/Way Southeast - Mitigation Remediation (400209)
Location: Southeast 171st Place to State Route 169 northeast of Kent
Enhance and create 0.7-acre wetland area and two acres of associated buffer.
Estimated cost: $187,000
- Southeast 208th Street @ 105th Place Southeast (400301)
Location: Intersection of Southeast 171st Place to State Route169 northeast of Kent
Install eastbound and westbound left turn lanes at the intersection, modify traffic signal and construct storm water detention/water quality facilities.
Estimated cost: $2.5 million
- Emergency Generators (400807)
Install emergency power generators at various facilities.
Estimated cost: $183,000
- Countywide Railroad Crossing Improvements (RDCW02)
Location: Countywide
Upgrade existing railroad crossing signal warning systems, crossing surfaces and approaches. These are joint projects with the railroad companies.
Estimated cost: $47,000
- Countywide Guardrail Program (RDCW04)
Location: Countywide
Prioritize and implement roadside safety improvements including barrier systems, shoulder widening, and hazardous object removal.
Estimated cost: $1.8 million
- Countywide Bridge Seismic Retrofit (RDCW10)
Location: Countywide
Prepare final plans and construct projects that retrofit the county's bridges to resist seismic loads.
Estimated cost: $617,000
- Bridge Priority Maintenance (RDCW11)
Location: Countywide
Perform high priority repairs on the county's bridge inventory. Examples include: make expansion joints functional, scour repairs, and repair bearings.
Estimated cost: $264,000
- RID/LID Participation (RDCW15)
Location: Countywide
This project allows the county to work cooperatively with the community to enhance existing roadways through Road Improvement Districts.
Estimated cost: $660,000
- Agreements with other agencies (RDCW17)
Location: Countywide
Provide funding for the county-owned portion projects with other jurisdictions for joint small works projects like signals, turn lanes and other improvements.
Estimated cost: $492,000
- Countywide traffic signals (RDCW19)
Location: Countywide
Provide funding for future traffic signals, signal interconnect systems and minor modifications to existing traffic signals.
Estimated cost: $1.5 million
- Countywide overlay (RDCW26)
Location: Countywide
Overlay new pavement on county roads based on an assessment of road condition as identified by the road condition management information system.
Estimated cost: $7.5 million
- Non-Motorized Improvements (RDCW28)
Location: Countywide
Work with school districts to identify, prioritize and construct safety projects in the immediate vicinity of primary and secondary schools, build walkways and pathways, and other pedestrian improvements.
Estimated cost: $1 million
- Drainage and Fish Passage Restoration Program (RDCW29)
Location: Countywide
To preserve and restore roadway drainage infrastructure, address roadway flooding, slope failures, and environmental issues affecting the King County roadways.
Estimated cost: $369,000
