News from King County Department of Transportation
Release date:  Sept. 8, 2006

UPDATE: Sept. 11, 2006

The start of this project has been moved to Monday, Sept. 18.

King County revamps plans for Hobart road project

The King County Road Services Division has revamped its plans for a road repair project on 276th Avenue Southeast in Hobart.

Earlier this year, the Roads Division had planned to close the road for up to two months to replace a failing culvert under the roadway. But, the recent concrete workers labor dispute pushed the project back to the point that work would be going on while fish were migrating back to nearby Carey Creek. The county did not believe it could obtain a permit from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to do construction during the spawning season.

Because of those scheduling conflicts, the county has decided to postpone the culvert replacement until next year, but will be making emergency repairs during the week of Sept. 11. These temporary repairs will involve placing a new, smaller plastic pipe inside the existing culvert to temporarily seal it and allow water to continue flowing under the roadway during the upcoming rainy season.

Installation of the pipe will take about five days, and crews will have to close down one lane at a time on the road during the repair project.

The location of the project is on 276th Avenue Southeast – the main road through Hobart, which is also the continuation of the Issaquah-Hobart Road south of State Route 18 – near the intersection with Southeast 200th Street. The old culvert is showing signs of failure, which could lead to serious problems on the road above it. The new culvert will also allow for better local drainage and improve fish passage along a tributary of Carey Creek. Replacing the culvert will require a large and deep excavation, so 276th Avenue Southeast will need to be closed when the culvert is replaced in 2007.

For more information, the public can contact Marnie McGrath at (206) 684-1154, or email her.