The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, started construction May 25 in Kent on the Lake Meridian outlet ecosystem restoration project.
The $2.3 million project consists of building approximately 2,500 feet of new stream channel, according to an Army Corps media release. The project site extends from the outlet of Lake Meridian at Lake Meridian Park to the confluence with Soos Creek.
The city of Kent is the local sponsor.
“We are pleased to move ahead with this project that will ultimately reduce flooding in the surrounding neighborhoods before the next rainy season,” said Beth Tan, city of Kent senior environmental engineer. “We appreciate the partnership between the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that have made this improvement possible.”
U.S Veterans Construction & Management, Corp., a business based in Buffalo, N.Y., will build the project. Work is expected to be completed in April 2012.
“This project is part of a phased project,” said Gordon Thomson, Corps of Engineers Seattle District senior project manager. “Phase one, completed in 2007, consisted of building an outlet control structure at the lake to regulate and release flows longer into the summer months into the new channel system.”
The project is part of a comprehensive restoration program for the entire Green/Duwamish ecosystem spanning the tidal estuaries to the spawning and wildlife habitat areas in the upper basin. The Lake Meridian Outlet venture is one of 45 projects that emphasize the restoration of critical habitat within the Green/Duwamish River watershed.
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