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

County gears up for several road projects along West Snoqualmie Valley Road

The King County Road Services Division has identified four sections of West Snoqualmie Valley Road Northeast that need repair before the coming storm season, and is scheduled to begin those repairs the week of Sept. 11.

Three of the four projects will include road closures that will disrupt traffic, so the work will be staggered through September and into October. The projects are located on West Snoqualmie Valley Road between Ames Lake-Carnation Road Northeast and Northeast Woodinville-Duvall Road.

In two locations, aging culverts under the road are failing and must be replaced, and two other sections of the road have been damaged by flows of groundwater in the fill beneath the roadway. County engineers believe if they are not repaired before heavy rainfall begins, those sections of roadway could crack, sink, buckle, or collapse.

The work must also be done before the end of the “fish window,” an annual period defined by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife when construction projects that affect rivers and streams can be done without harming salmon runs.

Three of the four projects will require full closures of the road. None of the closures should last more than five days. Specific information and dates about each closure will be posted on the road two weeks before the closure occurs.

Here are the tentative road closure dates and details for each project:

Sept. 11-14 – Remove a 37-foot-long section of 18-inch concrete culvert and replace it with a pipe of the same diameter about 11 blocks north of Northeast 80th Street. During this closure, motorists can detour via Ames Lake-Carnation Road, State Route 203 and Northeast 124th Street. This project will take seven days to complete, but the road should only be closed for four days, with traffic flagged through the work zone during the remainder of the project.

Sept. 18-21 – Install 359 feet of perforated pipe along the west side of the roadway and 40 feet of corrugated pipe to direct the water under the road and into an existing stream. This project is located about ten blocks south of Northeast 80th Street. This is also a weeklong project with a four-day road closure. Motorists can detour via Ames Lake-Carnation Road to Northeast 80th Street.

Sept. 25-29 – Replace a 52-foot-long concrete culvert with a 24-inch corrugated polyethylene pipe approximately 10 blocks south of the Woodinville-Duvall Road. The project will take eight days, which includes a five-day road closure and then traffic will be flagged through the work area during the last three days. The detour route is Woodinville-Duvall Road to SR 203 to Northeast 124th Street.

Early October – Crews will install a “French drain” to collect groundwater and carry it away from the roadway just south of the previous project. Then, they will re-contour the existing drainage ditch, and install 135 feet of pipe and one catch basin. This project is planned for early October, and should not require closure of the road.

If you have questions about any of the projects or road closures, contact Marnie McGrath at (206) 684-1154 by phone, or by email.