Crews are expected to start installing new traffic islands and curbing the week of Feb. 17 in Kent at the intersection of Willis Street and 74th Avenue South.
“These improvements will help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow, while also preparing for future connections to Naden Avenue South,” according to a city of Kent statement.
The City Council approved the $2.03 million project in October 2024.
When finished, northbound traffic on 74th Avenue South will no longer be able to turn left onto Willis Street, aka State Route 516. Drivers will need to turn right (eastbound) and use the Fourth Avenue South roundabout to head west.
Drivers must now wait for the left-turn signal to access Willis Street and head west.
Eastbound and westbound movements from Willis Street to southbound 74th Avenue South will remain unchanged.
The rechannelization of the intersection includes roadway construction, signal, illumination, storm drainage and other utility work.
The city’s reasoning behind the project is to reduce congestion and create future access for Naden Avenue South to Willis from Meeker Street, all part of a major plan by the city to sell its nearby 7.7 acres to a developer. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), because Willis Street is a state highway, required the city to install a roundabout at Fourth Avenue and this latest 74th Avenue project in order for the city to create access to the Naden property.
The city began to purchase the Naden properties in 2002 with plans for an aquatic center. But city leaders later abandoned that plan because of the high costs and then agreed to partner with the YMCA to build a fitness facility on the East Hill that opened in 2019.
Over the last several years the city has been trying to sell the land to a developer. A proposal for a hotel on a portion of the property fell through in 2020. A plan for a technology complex stalled. The city’s marketing of the property continues. The property sits just north of Willis Street, south of West Meeker Street and east of Highway 167.
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