News from King County Department of Transportation
Release date:  July 24, 2008

King County begins early preparations for bridge replacement on SE May Valley Road

The Bandaret Bridge on Southeast May Valley Road will be replaced with a new bridge in 2009, but the King County Road Services Division is doing some early work right now to prepare for next year’s construction.

The 56-year-old timber bridge spans upper Issaquah Creek on May Valley Road near 230th Avenue Southeast. It is being replaced because it is deteriorating, does not meet current seismic safety standards, and is too narrow to accommodate modern-day traffic volumes.

Starting July 23, the Roads Services Division began removing approximately 40 trees near the bridge. This will allow crews to relocate utility poles during August, which could result in some intermittent lane closures. All utilities in the area will be relocated by end of this year. The utilities need to be relocated to provide clearance for the construction equipment and to make way for a wider new bridge.

Next spring, the county will begin construction of the new bridge in stages to avoid complete closure of the road. It will have two twelve-foot lanes and eight-foot shoulders to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.