Redmond-area bridges in danger of closure due to drop in funding
Published 4:33 pm Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Since 2010, funding for King County’s Road Services Division has seen a one-third, or $32 million, drop.
This has been the result of a decline in property taxes, gas taxes and grant funding.
With this drop, 35 bridges in King County are at risk of closing over the next 25 years, including four near Redmond:
- Bear Creek Bridge on Northeast 133rd Street between Bear Creek Road Northeast and 198th Drive Northeast
- Bear Creek Bridge on Northeast 116th Street between Avondale Road Northeast and 194th Avenue Northeast
- Shults Bridge on Northeast 106th Street between Avondale Road Northeast and Northeast 106th Street
- Evans Creek Bridge on 196th Avenue Northeast just south of State Route 202
In addition to these potential bridge closures, a number of King County roads have been identify as needing significant reconstruction. Redmond-area roads included on this list are:
- Northeast Union Hill Road from 196th Avenue Northeast to 206th Place Northeast and from 238th Avenue Northeast to 258th Avenue Northeast
- Northeast 50th Street from 214th Avenue Northeast to SR-202
- West Snoqualmie Valley Road from Northeast 124th Street to Northeast Woodinville-Duvall Road
According to the county’s website, “The structure for funding roads does not reflect the needs of a modern transportation system that serves an estimated one million daily vehicle trips in a county with a population of nearly two million people.”
The website continues to state that while King County has managed its system by “caring for the most pressing problems that affect the most people — even this heightened level of triage is no longer enough to manage the decline today or in the years ahead.”
Some things King County has done or will do to cut costs include cutting the Road Services Division by one-third by the end of the year, reorganize internally to become more efficient, shifted from capacity improvements to safety needs, preservations and repair and work with cities on a revenue structure that adequately and funds the transportation of the community.
