Levee work will close trail, shrink golf course

A roadblock has gone up for bicyclists, joggers and pedestrians along the Green River Trail in Kent.

Kent city officials have temporarily closed the trail next to the Riverbend Golf Course due to repairs by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and King County to flood-control levees along the Green River.

Trail users will need to take a detour near the golf course to Frager Road over the next four months. Detour signs have been placed to direct trail users to Frager Road.

City officials closed the popular trail between West Meeker Street and West James Street (near Russell Road) because of repairs to more than one mile of levees along the Green River. Nine holes of the 18-hole golf course will be closed in September.

The corps and the county started construction this week on the levees to help control flooding in the Kent Valley. The repairs are expected to be completed by October.

Chain-link fences were installed last week along holes No. 4, 5 and 6 of the golf course to help block off the trail.

“Unfortunately, it’s the height of the summer season,” said Jeff Watling, city parks director. “But we’re doing what we can. The trail is open from James Street north, so residents of The Lakes (residential area) and other areas near there can use the trail.”

Residents should be on the lookout for increased truck traffic and construction equipment in the levee-repair areas.

A parking lot for trail users just northwest of the Meeker Street bridge will remain open during construction.

The estimated cost to repair the two Kent levees is $13 million, according to an Army Corps media release. Federal funds will cover the cost of the project.

“It will protect residential and industrial areas,” said Mike Mactutis, city environmental engineering manager, who has worked with the county and Corps in preparation for the levee repairs. “A portion has been damaged over the years and has been settling. You can see cracks in the trail.”

Once done, the repairs will help protect the golf course, The Lakes and Kent’s northeast industrial area from flooding.

“The repair is long overdue,” Mactutis said. “It will be a good thing to get it done.”

The levees sustained serious damage during the November 2006 flood.

Riverbend, a popular course owned and operated by the city, will close a nine-hole section of the course after Labor Day in September. The course will be back to an 18-hole expanse by March of 2009, Watling said. The par-3 course will remain open throughout construction.

After Labor Day, city officials will start work to reconfigure the golf course.

As many as six holes (holes No. 4 through No. 9) along the river will be relocated because of the expanded Narita and Myers Golf levees that will stretch as much as 15 to 20 feet beyond the existing levees, Mactutis said.

King County will pay the city an estimated $1.9 million for the relocation of six holes, Watling said. The county also will pay the city approximately $511,000 for lost revenue, when the nine holes are closed from September through March.

City officials spent a couple of months in negotiations with the corps and the county to work out an agreement to allow the course to operate 18 holes through the peak spring and summer months, as well as to be compensated for the relocation of six holes and the lost revenue in the fall and winter as a nine-hole course.

King County has more than 500 flood-control facilities, including about 119 miles of levees. The system is designed to protect thousands of lives and billions of dollars in economic activities.

The county and corps repaired the Briscoe School levee last year in Kent, a project that also resulted in a temporary closure of the Green River Trail on the north end of the city. That levee runs north of South 200th Street.

Contact Kent Reporter Courts, government reporter Steve Hunter at shunter@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 5052.

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