This summer, King County is putting a renewed emphasis on maintaining its inventory of 1,900 miles of roadway. The county is looking at new methods and new technology to get the best return on its investment in asphalt.

"Our infrastructure is aging," said Linda Dougherty, director of the King County Road Services Division. "Our construction projects to add capacity and ease congestion are well underway, but we cannot neglect the roads we already have. Maintenance and repairs have to go hand-in-hand with the construction of new roads."

Dougherty said routine maintenance of county roads can save taxpayers millions of dollars. So even when budgets are tight, it does not pay to neglect repaving projects, guardrail replacements, and other road repairs.

"Most of our county roads are being subjected to heavier traffic loads, which wears out the surface sooner," said Dougherty. "We’ve found that if we repave our arterial roads on a 10 to 12 year cycle, it costs about $50,000 a lane mile. If we wait even a year or two beyond that cycle, the cost of repaving can soar to as much as $179,000 a lane mile."

Dougherty said the division is looking at ways to increase maintenance and save money. In some cases, new equipment is the answer. The division recently bought a state-of-the-art German asphalt grinder that can chew its way through old roads at the rate of almost a ton a minute. The machine is also set up so that paving crews can follow behind the grinder and immediately lay down new asphalt.

"This cuts project time dramatically making repaving projects much more cost-efficient," said Dougherty. "And, it means less noise, disruption and delays for motorists and nearby residents."

King County will be spending $4.6 million on its pavement overlay program in 2003. By 2007, that amount is expected to climb to $7.6 million.

"Most of the arterial road system in King County is 50 to 60 years old," said Dougherty. "Right now, approximately 75 percent of those roads are in good condition. We want to keep them that way, and get the other 25 percent up to that standard."

Construction is still a big part of the division’s work plan. In 2003, Roads’ construction contracts total $60 million for a variety of projects. Both maintenance and construction are part of the King County Department of Transportation’s overall annual transportation construction program, which includes projects for roads, bridges, transit facilities, and the King County International Airport.

A complete list of the 2003 projects is posted online. These are some highlights:

• Approximately $5.9 million will be spent to add lanes, pedestrian improvements and lighting on 124^th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 132^nd Street and Northeast 145 Street;
• Initial work will begin this year on improvements to the intersection of Sahalee Way Northeast and State Route 202 (Redmond-Fall City Road). The total project cost is estimated at $1.3 million;
• Work is currently underway to replace the Preston Bridge over the Raging River at a cost of $3.6 million;
• A section of 140^th Avenue Southeast between Petrovitsky Road and Southeast 197^th Street will be widened to four lanes with a continuous left turn lane. The $22.2 million project includes sidewalks, bike lanes, and lighting;
• South 277^th Street between State Route 167 and the West Valley Highway will be widened, and raised in some areas to be above the floodplain. The $17.1 million project also includes seismic retrofitting of the underpass bridge, modernizing three traffic signals, and adding bike lanes;
• More than $6.2 million will be spent on: drainage projects; new guardrails; small neighborhood road projects; fish passage; and improving pedestrian safety countywide, but particularly near schools;

• Construction of a five-story parking garage at the Eastgate Park-and-Ride lot is underway. Total project cost is $33.1 million;
• Improvements to five bus bases totaling $26 million;
• A $9.7 million seismic reconstruction of the building that houses power, equipment and staff for Metro’s electrical systems including the trolley overhead and waterfront street car.

• Completion of the $4.7 million passenger terminal renovation.