King County Road Services - Low Impact Development (LID) for Roads - Military Road S. at S. 272nd St. Project
"Green Building for Transportation Infrastructure"
This is an intersection improvement project located at Military Road S. at S. 272nd St. which received a Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater grant. The grant of $424,375 enables King County to fund the following activities: The construction of porous concrete sidewalks and a bioretention facility/rain garden. The development and implementation of a monitoring program to monitor the performance of the sidewalks and bioretention facility for a period of 3 years after construction. The development of public outreach and educational measures to share knowledge about the LID components of this project (e.g., interpretive signage at the project site, a Web site, project tours, public presentations, and writing articles for publication).
Non-LID components of this project include:
- Construct an eastbound right turn lane and add an additional northbound left turn lane.
- Construct sidewalks that will reduce the project’s overall impervious area.
- Existing traffic signal and traffic cameras will be upgraded.
What are some reasons for using LID on this project?
- Reduces the amount of new impervious surface.
- Helps maintain natural hydrology.
- Helps protects Star Lake and nearby wildlife habitat from high storm flows.
- Lowers the cost of stormwater infrastructure by eliminating the need for a stormwater vault or large R/D pond.
- Improves the appearance and aesthetics of the roadway.
What makes this project green?
LID approaches such as the porous cement concrete sidewalks and the bioretention stormwater facility/rain garden make this a "green" project. Although LID approaches have been widely applied to residential streets, this project demonstrates the potential for utilizing LID approaches in the more alternative context of larger scale transportation infrastructure projects.
To fulfill grant requirements, the project will monitor the performance of the "green" aspects of the project, including the porous sidewalks and bioretention facility, for three years after construction.
Project facts
- Construct 1,100 square yards of porous concrete sidewalks.
- The rain garden is 285’ long and covers 0.12 acres.
- Construction cost is $1.1 million.
- Department of Ecology (DOE) grant in the amount of $424,000.
- Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant in the amount of $640,000.
Related project documents
Project sponsors
This project is sponsored by the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board, and King County.
Contact us
For information about this project, please contact:
Jim Sussex, Engineer II
King County Road Services Division
Engineering Services Section, Environmental Unit
206-296-8737
Project facts
• Construct 1,100 square yards of porous concrete sidewalks.
• The rain garden is 285’ long and covers 0.12 acres.
• Construction cost is $1.1 million.
• Department of Ecology (DOE) grant in the amount of $424,000.
• Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant in the amount of $640,000.