A Kirkland small business, Overlake Oil Co., was recently awarded a $1 million contract to supply the lubricants for “Bertha,” the world’s largest-diameter tunneling machine that will soon burrow the way for State Route 99.

As one of Shell Oil’s top 100 lubricant distributors in the nation, the company has already started working with contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners on the two-mile long tunnel, geared to replace the often-congested Alaskan Way Viaduct on Seattle’s waterfront.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, SR 99 tunneling is expected to begin this summer.

“I’m most proud of the continuity of this family business over the last 66 years,” said Overlake Oil owner Jim Jessen. “Tunnels are the future for a lot of urban areas.”

Operating since 1947, the 12-employee business is nestled in the Norkirk neighborhood with residential homes to the back of the building and the Cross Kirkland Corridor just ahead.

Jessen said the firm working on SR 99 expressed a desire to work with a local company that was interested in supporting the community but also cared about the long-term effects. Overlake Oil will provide biodegradable and fire-resistant lubricants for Bertha.

“We have different ways to deliver products in a more green, environmentally responsible way,” Jessen said, adding that the company uses oil bank technology to solve the problems of too much waste, too many empty containers, contamination and mobility problems, among others. “We’re recognizing green is the future. We want the same things customers want. We want to help them save money and we want to help them save the environment.”

While major oil companies have shrunk throughout the years, Jessen proudly exclaims they’ve found a way to still be relevant after so long.

When Jessen’s grandfather Harry W. Wright started the company – originally called Harre Wright Oil – it mainly distributed bulk gasoline, diesel, furnace oil and lubricants to local businesses and residents on the Eastside. And the company grew after Harre Wright Oil won the Madison Park ferry diesel business bid from the Kirkland City Council 10 years later.

Throughout the 1960s, under the name of Wright & Jessen, the company assisted in the construction of the Interstate 405 freeway and later served Genie Industries and provided lubricants for the construction of the University Link, the light rail link between Husky Stadium and the Capitol Hill area.

In 1972, Jessen’s father Wayne Jessen took over the company, named it Overlake Oil and moved it to Eighth Street from the Houghton area.

“We’re sort of a secret in the community,” Jessen said. “The location is secluded; you could live in Kirkland your whole life and not know us.”

Under his father’s ownership, one of the first key-lock fueling systems on the Eastside was installed. Eventually, Wayne retired and Jessen and his brother-in-law Steve Merrill bought the company in 1993. During that time, the petroleum distributor secured contracts with the four major oil refineries in Washington: Exxon Mobil, Shell, Conoco-Phillips and Chevron.

Merrill recently retired this year after 29 years.

As a third-generation owner, Jessen said he and his family are fortunate to be in Kirkland because it’s a key location and just “over the lake” from Seattle. He said he can’t imagine the company being anywhere else.

“Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded that Kirkland is a great place to be in business,” Jessen said. “Raising kids in the community, and being able to be a part of it and see the people, it just doesn’t get any better than this.”