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Dec
02

NE Stillwater Hill Road/Kelly Road NE Roadway Preservation Project

Project completed

October 19, 2021 – Final centerline and fog line (white lines at edge of road) striping is complete.

Status update

Wednesday October 20, 2021

The entire length of the project, from SR 203 to NE Big Rock Road is now rebuilt and open to traffic with permanent lane striping in place. Crews will be onsite doing various punch-list tasks throughout the rest of the month. Enjoy your new road!

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Map of the project area.

Larger view, PDF 541KB

 

Overview

This project removes and replaces 1.59 miles of NE Stillwater Hill Road/Kelly Road NE, from State Route 203 to NE Big Rock Road located between Carnation, WA and Duvall, WA. Many travelers use this section of road as an alternate access route to SR 203 and to reach points east of NE Big Rock Road. The pavement and the support system under the pavement are in poor condition. Restoration of this well-traveled road ensures its usefulness for years to come.

Construction work includes excavating, restoring, and repaving the roadway and shoulders from the ground up.

NE Stillwater Hill Road/Kelly Road NE will be open to local traffic ONLY from Aug. 2 until fall 2021.

Access to residences and businesses during construction

Local access to residences, businesses, deliveries, and emergency services will be maintained during the entire project. However, much of the road will be under construction and will have a gravel, uneven surface. The speed limit will be lowered where there is gravel.

It may be faster to use the Fay Road NE detour route and enter from the opposite project access point to get to your local address.

Vehicles, bicycles and pedestrian traffic will not be able to travel the entire length of NE Stillwater Hill Road or Kelly Road NE between State Route 203 and NE Big Rock Road.

Project access points located at:

  • The intersection of NE Big Rock Road/Kelly Road NE.
  • The intersection of SR 203/NE Stillwater Hill Road.

Residents should note the location of the active work zone when deciding which entry point to use.

Drivers and bicyclists who don’t need local access (through traffic) will be directed to the detour on Fay Road NE.

Driveway access

Residents may need to wait up to 10 minutes to turn into or out of side streets or driveways due to construction equipment. Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic. In rare cases, crews may ask drivers to use the alternate access point to get to their destination.

Work will happen in two adjacent construction work zones at a time

The project will be divided into four separate construction work zones with work happening in two active construction zones at a time.

  • Zones A and B will be active in August and September.
  • Zones C and D will be active in September and October.

All Construction Zones
Larger view: PDF 370KB

Project timeline

March 2021: Advertise to contractors

May 5, 2021: Online community meeting

July 15, 2021: Online community meeting

Mid-July 2021: Construction begins

August 2, 2021: Total road closures begin

Mid-October, 2021: The road will reopen and major construction work is complete

Frequently asked questions

Road maintenance crews have patched up this section of NE Stillwater Hill Road and Kelly Road NE over and over through the years, however there is still a lot of cracking throughout.

Rebuilding the road from the bare ground up to the pavement will eliminate the need for patchwork fixes and ensure the life of the roadway for years to come.


The soil underneath the pavement (subgrade) is too soft. When the subgrade is too soft, the weight of traffic causes subgrade to shift. This shift causes ruts, dips and cracks in the road. Firmer soil helps prevent the road from cracking and rutting. This project removes the entire subgrade and replaces it with hard-packed crushed gravel and soil. The project also replaces the pavement with new asphalt.

No. The road will stay in the same configuration it is in today. There will be no road-widening, added lanes or shoulders. The only difference is that the road will be rebuilt from the ground up to preserve its use for years to come.

Our contractor plans to have work crews onsite Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, and an occasional Saturday if needed. The entire project will take approximately four (4) months to complete.

This project includes removing 1.59 miles of pavement, removing the road base under the pavement, and rebuilding the entire road and then repaving the entire road while maintaining local access for residents. This is a significant amount of work. That is why it will take four months to complete.

No. The project started late due to procurement issues and the contractor must now compress the work schedule to complete the work on time, as promised. If the road is fully reopened on the weekend, crews must spend Monday returning the work zone to an active construction site and this takes valuable time away from doing the work.

This change will not affect local access for residents and deliveries. Through traffic is still not permitted, but local access is maintained.


No. Road reconstruction requires the complete removal of the entire road, from the bare ground up, and then the complete rebuilding of the road from the ground up. The road will be an open pit where crews are working much of the time. There are no shoulders on this road to direct traffic into when the road is undergoing active construction, and our crews will not have enough time to place and remove steel plates over the road every time traffic needs to pass through.

  1. We will post the information on this website in the status box at the top of the page.
  2. There will be project information signs with large maps at both project access points. The project access points are: The intersection of NE Big Rock Road and Kelly Road NE, and the intersection of SR 203 and Stillwater Hill Road NE.
     
Through traffic, and traffic that needs to enter via the opposite project access point to reach residences or businesses on the other side of the active work zone, will be directed to Fay Road NE.

Large trucks may prefer to use NE Big Rock Road to travel between SR 203 and NE Lake Joy Road.

We will post the closure information, detour routes and local access information on the project website and on our My Commute map.

No. King County is working with Waste Management to maintain garbage pickup. There may be slight changes in schedule and residents may be asked to move their cans to the opposite side of the street.

Yes, King County is working with the U.S Mail to make sure delivery remains active. Our construction contractor also will accommodate other delivery companies who need to access residences and businesses within the designated active work zone. Please let delivery and service providers know which project access point to use at the time of delivery to reach your address. We also will have signs posted, however many delivery companies operate on a strict timetable and knowing in advance which route to take will be a big help to them and to you.

Yes. We will notify local Fire, Police and Sheriff departments about construction activity throughout the project. Our contractor will prioritize access to all emergency services and provide pass-through access to fire, police and aid vehicles as needed.

Our contractor does not anticipate this work to be very loud or smelly or cause a lot of vibration. That said, road reconstruction work requires crews to break open existing pavement. Our contractor also will use generators and other road-building equipment that could be noisy/smelly or cause low-level vibration while crews are working.

No. For safety reasons, the work zone will be closed off to all pedestrians, human-powered vehicles and motor-powered vehicles at all times, even when crews are not actively present.

The total project budget is $5 million. The project is funded by Federal funding and a local King County funding match.

Yes. You can view the meeting presentation slides PDF 2MB or watch a recording of the full online meeting on Facebook. For additional information, or to get a copy of the presentation in another format, please email BBender@kingcounty.gov. Please note, some of the information presented at the May 5, 2021 meeting is no longer accurate. For example, as of July 2021, the project will not reopen the road during weekends.

Photos

Work to install final top layer of pavement.
October 6, 2021 – Kelly Road NE, just north of NE 94th Street, looking north.


Work to install final top layer of pavement.
October 6, 2021 – Kelly Road NE, just south of NE 108th Street, looking south.


Before and after paving.
April 19 and September 24, 2021 – Stillwater Hill before and after: Here is a photo of NE Stillwater Hill Road at SR 203 before and after paving work.


Section of asphalt removed.
August 2, 2021: A section of old asphalt pavement on Kelly Road NE near 32th Way NE is removed.


Asphalt crushing.
August 2, 2021: The old asphalt pavement is crushed up and deposited into a dump truck for proper disposal.


Mowing equipment.
July 21, 2021: A bulldozer is used to clear away weeds and vegetation from the side of the road to prepare the road for construction.


Damage on NE Stillwater Hill Road.
Looking northbound on Kelly Road NE near 325th Avenue NE.


Damage on NE Stillwater Hill Road.
Looking southbound on Kelly Road NE near NE 100th Place.


Damage on NE Stillwater Hill Road.
Looking northbound on Kelly Road NE near NE 100th Place.

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