Kirkland’s capital project engineers are designing and managing an eclectic array of projects that will improve residents’ quality of life. A digest of those project follows.

Street paving (North Rose Hill, Juanita)

Fall’s onset of wet weather forced Kirkland’s street preservation program to suspend until 2017 the street paving it had planned for 93rd and 100th avenues northeast. Kirkland’s 2016 overlay contractor paved North Rose Hill’s Slater Avenue NE in mid-October and re-installed its utility covers. Watson Asphalt will stripe the arterial’s permanent markings when the weather is conducive—not too cold or too wet. In the meantime, the City will maintain the temporary striping www.kirklandwa.gov/streetpreservation

Intelligent transportation systems, phase II (Totem Lake, Juanita)

Construction crews are preparing to upgrade 25 traffic signals throughout Totem Lake and along 100th Avenue Northeast to Intelligent Transportation Systems technology. Totem Electric will begin the process later this fall and will complete it by spring 2017. When complete, these 25 traffic signals will function as an inter-connected system, which Kirkland’s transportation engineers can adjust remotely in real-time from the City Hall-based Traffic Management Center. And since the system uses cameras to detect traffic, the new system will allow commuters to monitor current traffic conditions in real-time, as well. The City of Kirkland upgraded in 2015 traffic signals at intersections along Lake Washington Boulevard, Lake Street, Market Street, 98th Avenue NE, and NE 85th Street. Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/its

Lakefront bicycle and pedestrian improvements (Lakeview, Moss Bay, Market, Juanita)

The project aimed at improving safety for walking and bicycling along Kirkland’s north-to-south corridor of Lake Washington Boulevard, Lake Street, Market Street and 98th Avenue NE will likely begin by summer 2017. The project includes rapid flashing beacons at Market Street and Waverly Way and at Market Street and Central Way. It will also improve sidewalk access at 32 intersections, and add buffers to bike lanes along Lake Washington Boulevard, Lake Street, Market Street and 98th Avenue NE.

Sixth street traffic signals (Everest)

A project aimed at managing Sixth Street’s traffic congestion with a pair of four-way traffic signals begins spring 2017. Crews will start with Sixth Street’s intersection with Kirkland Way. That phase of the project will reconfigure the Kirkland Way intersection to better accommodate buses’ turning-radii and to reconstruct it with concrete. Concrete is more durable than asphalt pavement and thus, more capable of withstanding the heavier-than-normal traffic loads buses impose on the intersection’s surface. Construction on the Kirkland Way intersection should last four to six months and will require a two-week closure of the intersection. Construction on the Ninth Avenue intersection will begin shortly after the City of Kirkland acquires a piece of property that will allow it to reconfigure the intersection. Search “Google Vicinity Projects on www.kirklandwa.gov

Juanita Drive first wins (Finn Hill)

Construction will likely begin spring 2017 on a series of improvements that will make walking and bicycling along Juanita Drive safer and more efficient. The Juanita Drive First Wins project includes three sets of Rapid Flashing Beacons at three crosswalks, an uphill bike and pedestrian lane and sidewalk widening south of Juanita Drive’s intersection with 98th Avenue Northeast. It includes several other safety improvements, as well, such as an eastbound to northbound refuge pocket from Northeast 138th Place onto Juanita Drive. These improvements are the quickest and most cost-effective ways to improve safety—especially for walking and bicycle riding—along Juanita Drive. However, the full plan for Juanita Drive will ultimately include more than 30 projects. To learn more, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/juanitadrive

Holmes Point Drive stormwater (Finn Hill)

The two-phase fix for a Holmes Point Drive drainage problem should be in place in spring 2017. Kirkland’s engineering consultants are currently permitting through local and state agencies a stormwater system for the area near 11645 Holmes Point Drive. The system will feature a bigger stormwater pipe and a new route for the pipes. The existing pipe is too small to convey all the water that currently drains toward it. As a result, water overwhelms the system.

Fire Station 25 (Finn Hill)

Design begins in November on the renovation of Finn Hill’s Fire Station 25, located on 84th Avenue Northeast. The design process—and ensuing construction—will bring the 1970s-era fire station into compliance with a variety of building codes and fire station codes. The result of this is three-fold. First, the fire station will then be able to withstand a catastrophic event, such as a major earthquake, and thus be able to serve the community during a catastrophe. It’s more efficient design will enable firefighters to respond to emergencies faster and it preventing toxic contaminants from entering the firefighters’ living areas. Construction will likely begin fall 2017 and end in the summer of 2018.

100th Avenue NE (Juanita)

The engineers and outreach specialists re-designing 100th Avenue NE are currently evaluating a set of fundamental design options to transform the street into a safe, multi-modal corridor that will accommodate walking, cycling and driving. The on-going “alternatives analysis” will answer basic questions about the future corridor—how wide it should be and how wide its sidewalks, bike lanes and travel lanes should be. Those answers will derive from a set of scoring criteria, as well as feedback from stakeholders, residents, and the 100th Avenue advisory group, which the design team garnered through public open houses, advisory group meetings, web forums and surveys. After the public reviews the alternatives analysis results, the team will begin designing the corridor’s specific elements, such as its sidewalks, bike lanes, intersection configurations and its construction strategy. The design process will continue into 2017. www.kirklandwa.gov/100thavedesign

Cochran Springs (Lakeview)

The project to install a 15-foot-wide, five-foot-tall concrete box culvert beneath Lake Washington Boulevard at Cochran Springs Creek is now substantially complete. Kirkland’s contractor, KLB Construction, paved and striped in mid-October the 800-foot section of Lake Washington Boulevard between NE 38th Place and Northup Way that it used as a construction zone while installing the box culvert. The contractor has also replanted the native vegetation. It will continue completing smaller tasks through October.

The box culvert restores fish-rearing habitat and allows the creek to flow freely to Lake Washington, which dramatically reduces the creek’s potential to flood Lake Washington Boulevard. www.kirklandwa.gov/cochransprings

52nd Street sidewalk and bike lane (Lakeview)

Construction will likely begin spring 2017 on the NE 52nd Street bicycle and pedestrian connection to the Cross Kirkland Corridor. The project features a continuous sidewalk on the road’s north side, as well as a 12-foot, westbound lane for both cycling and driving. On the road’s south side, the project will add an uphill bike lane for people who are riding their bikes east. Project engineers expect construction to continue throughout 2017.

Water and sewer upgrades on Third Avenue S and Second Street S (Moss Bay)

The City of Kirkland will begin replacing in late winter 2017 the existing six-inch concrete sewer line that runs along Second Street South and Third Avenue South with 780 linear feet of eight-inch PVC sewer pipe. The City will also replace the aging six-inch water main that runs along Second Street South with a 12-inch water main. Project Engineer Aparna Khanal expects to complete the design by fall 2016 and to begin construction by winter 2016. Construction will likely be complete by early 2017. For more information, search “water sewer second third” on www.kirklandwa.gov

Norkirk sidewalk (Norkirk)

A project to replace 1,300 linear feet of damaged sidewalk in the Norkirk neighborhood will likely begin this winter and be complete by spring 2017. The 2016 Annual Sidewalk Maintenance Program project will replace damaged sidewalk panels along Sixth Avenue, from Fifth Street to Sixth Street and along the west side of Sixth Street, from Sixth Avenue to Seventh Avenue. To achieve this, the City will have to replace the trees in the adjacent median. The project will also repair isolated sections of sidewalk and improve sidewalk access at Marina Park and in the Highlands, Juanita and Everest neighborhoods.

Norkirk water main upgrades (Norkirk)

The City of Kirkland is planning in April 2017 to upgrade the water main along sections of Third Street, Fourth Street, and Kirkland Way. The work along Third Street will be most extensive, extending from Central Way to 10th Avenue. On Fourth Street, crews will replace the water main in a two-block section, starting at 18th Avenue and heading north. And on Kirkland Avenue, crews will replace the water main one block west of Sixth Street.

Sewer upgrade along First Street (Norkirk)

The sewer main beneath Norkirk’s First Street will receive an upgrade in spring 2017. The City of Kirkland will upgrade 4,200 feet of the existing sewer main from Central Way in downtown Kirkland to 16th Avenue, near Crestwoods Park and the Kirkland Middle School. The project will replace 18 manholes and side-sewers.

North Rose Hill sidewalk (North Rose Hill)

A project to add nearly 2,000 linear feet of sidewalk in North Rose Hill will likely begin this winter and be complete by summer. The School Walk Route Enhancements project will provide a continuous sidewalk along 126th Avenue NE, from Northeast 85th Street to NE 95th Street and along NE 90th Street, from 124th Avenue NE to 126th Avenue NE.

Northeast 80th Street (South Rose Hill)

The recent water main upgrade beneath Northeast 80th Street adds redundancy and flexibility to a water delivery system that supplies drinking water and fire flow to the Highlands, South Rose Hill and North Rose Hill neighborhoods. As part of the same project, Kirkland also upgraded the sewer main beneath NE 80th Street. Kirkland’s contractor patched the South Rose Hill street earlier in October. The City of Kirkland plans in 2017 to repave the street from 132nd Avenue NE to 122nd Avenue NE and in 2018, to repave the remaining portion. Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/80thwaterandsewer

Totem Lake pedestrian ­­bridge (Totem Lake)

Design has begun on a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that will allow people to travel over Northeast 124th Street and Totem Lake Boulevard—two of Kirkland’s busiest arterials—while traveling along the Cross Kirkland Corridor. The bridge will connect the Cross Kirkland Corridor at NE 124th Street to Totem Lake Park. Senior Project Engineer Aaron McDonald expects to finish the design process by next March 2018. Search “Totem Lake Pedestrian Bridge” on www.kirklandwa.gov