DNRP > SWD > Facilities > Houghton Transfer Station Safety and Mitigation Project

Houghton Transfer Station Safety and Mitigation Project

Project Schematic enlarge image (PDF, 251 K) View a graphic depiction of the planned projects at the Houghton Transfer Station.

Environmental Review Update

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requires state and local agencies to consider the likely environmental consequences of a proposal before approving or denying the proposal. The Solid Waste Division completed an Environmental Checklist (PDF, 3.0 MB – Note: this is a very large file and may take several minutes to download, depending on connection speed) and made a determination that the safety and mitigation projects proposed for the Houghton transfer station will not result in significant environmental impacts. View the Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) (PDF, 168 K).

The public comment period on environmental checklist and SEPA DNS runs from December 14 through December 28, 2007. Comments on the DNS, in written form only, must be submitted by December 28, 2007 to:

Kevin Kiernan, Division Director
King County Solid Waste Division 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 701
Seattle, Washington 98104-3855

Station Profile

The Houghton Transfer Station is located at 11727 Northeast 60th Street in Kirkland, on 8.4 acres at the south end of the closed Houghton Landfill. The station, constructed in the mid-1960s, receives mixed municipal solid waste and source-separated recyclables from commercial garbage haulers and from people who haul their own solid waste.

Project Purpose

The Solid Waste Division has recommended closing the Houghton transfer station and relocating a new station in northeast King County. The current site lacks sufficient room to expand recycling services or to add a garbage compactor, which is necessary to process garbage efficiently once the Cedar Hills landfill closes and waste is exported out of county. A new facility will take about ten years to complete - from siting and design, to permitting and construction. The safety and mitigation improvements to be made to the existing station will enable the division to operate the station safely, efficiently, and with less impact on our neighbors and surrounding community until a new facility can be built.

Project Description

The following is a list of projects planned for the Houghton station that was developed in conjunction with the City of Kirkland:

1. Replacement of the transfer building roof over the existing floor footprint
2. Construction of a sound barrier wall on the west side of the station
3. Construction of a pathway on the north side of N.E. 60th St. between 116th Ave. N.E. and 120th Ave. N.E..
4. Reconfiguration of the trailer parking area and changes to on-site traffic control
5. Installation of a gravity sewer line to replace the existing sewer pump station
   Note: This improvement is no longer being pursued due to discovery of obstacles and obstructions along the planned route. Instead, the existing sewer pump station will be replaced with a new pump station.
6. Onsite changes to the approach to the transfer building tunnel area to better accommodate the turning radius required by transfer trailers
7. Onsite changes to exiting traffic controls

1. Replacement of the transfer building roof over the existing floor footprint

   This work includes replacing the current roof which is 40 years old, and reducing the number of roof support columns. The existing roof has suffered repeated structural damage due to impact from large commercial collection vehicles while unloading (tipping) their contents. The intent of the design is to increase the interior vertical clearances and open up the floor plan to promote a safer, more obstruction-free, user-friendly facility. The improvements will include raising the elevation of the roof from 28 feet to 33 feet for the new ridge, and 43 feet for the inverted truss structure that supports the new roof, in order to achieve a 25-foot vertical clearance under the roof. The number of support columns will be reduced from twenty to six.

   The new roof structure will be constructed to meet all current structural requirements including earthquake damage, and include an absorptive surface on the underside for noise reduction, and a fire suppression sprinkler system. These improvements will make the facility safer for use by the workers and the public.

2. Construction of a sound barrier wall on the west side of the station

   A sound wall will be constructed along the western boundary of the transfer station property. The new sound wall will replace the existing parallel wood and chainlink fences along the west edge of the property. This wall will be 12 feet tall along most of the west boundary, and only 6 feet tall where it encroaches on a wetland buffer, which is approximately in the middle of the wall. The wall will be located on the same alignment as the two existing fences. The sound wall will help mitigate noise generated within the trailer yard and, to a lesser extent, inside the transfer building. Sound absorption material will be applied on the east side of the wall to avoid reflecting noise into the residential neighborhood to the east.

3. Construction of a pathway on the north side of N.E. 60th St. between 116th Ave. N.E. and 120th Ave. N.E.

   The Solid Waste Division will design and construct a pathway in front of the station that is similar to the asphalt pathway west of Ben Franklin Elementary School. The pathway would be a five foot wide asphalt surface with an extruded curb along its length and thermoplastic crosswalk markings across the driveway entrances to the transfer station. The City of Kirkland will place signage along the property alerting motorists and pedestrians of the pathway.

4. Reconfiguration of the trailer parking area

   Reconfiguration of the trailer parking area would reduce hazardous maneuvering conflicts that currently exist between transfer trailer trucks and customer traffic trying to exit the site. The reconfiguration will require adding approximately 19,650 square feet of new pavement area to the existing constrained trailer parking area. Once completed, transfer trailers will be able to park two-deep instead of three-deep, allowing for more efficient, safer, and quicker movement and removal of trailers. Three additional pole-mounted light fixtures will be added at the yard perimeter—two along the north edge of the yard and one on the east side. The lights will be baffled and directed downward so that light does not intrude on adjoining residential properties to the west. In addition, hose bibs will be added in the trailer parking area to enhance the division's ability to wash down and keep the area clean.

5. Replacement of the existing sewer pump station

   The existing sewer pump station will be replaced with a new pump station to ensure reliable operation during normal and inclement weather periods.

6. Onsite changes to the approach to the transfer building tunnel area to better accommodate the turning radius required by transfer trailers

   Since the transfer station was built in the mid-1960's, longer transfer trailers have emerged in the solid waste industry. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for Solid Waste Division trucks to swing wide enough on the curved approach road to enter the transfer building tunnel safely. The division will be widening the roadway approach to the transfer building tunnels to allow for safer maneuvering of transfer trailers into these tunnels.

7. Onsite changes to exiting traffic controls

   At times, customers have exited the trailer entrance and exit gate instead of exiting past the scale house facility, thereby avoiding weighing out and paying required fees. The division will develop and implement a progressive signage and striping program to try to improve this situation and ensure proper flow of traffic through the transfer station.

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