The city of Kent received a $1.5 million federal grant that will help pay for an estimated $3 million asphalt overlay project along South 212th Street from the Green River Bridge to Orillia Road.
Kent received the grant from the Puget Sound Regional Council, which selected projects for the grants as part of a $4.3 billion regional transportation improvement program from 2021 to 2024. The program, funded by the Federal Highway Administration, will help pay for expansion and maintenance projects in the region as well as state highway improvements, bicycle and pedestrian facilities and investments in city and county roads.
The South 212th Street project performed well in a merit-based selection process for local and regional mobility, according to a letter to Mayor Dana Ralph from Josh Brown, executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council.
The City Council accepted the grant at its Jan. 5 meeting.
The project consists of the asphalt overlay of a 0.85-mile stretch of South 212th Street between the Green River Bridge and Orillia Road at the Kent city limits. City staff applied for federal construction funds through the Puget Sound Regional Council. The regional council’s executive board voted in October to award the project $1.5 million of federal funds.
City Public Works staff estimates the total cost of the project at $3 million. Additional funds are expected to come from the city’s business and occupation tax. City staff also will apply for more grants.
The project will include related pavement repairs, pavement markings, and improvements to existing curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Abdulnaser Almaroof, a city design engineer, said in an email the project could go out to bid this summer but it depends on full funding for the work.
If funding goes well, the project could be completed in late fall, Almaroof said.
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