It’s official: Council OKs extension of S. 224th Street

The Kent City Council voted unanimously April 1 to approve the construction of a three-lane, 1.8-mile extension of South 224th Street up the East Hill.

Project aimed at cutting congestion

The Kent City Council voted unanimously April 1 to approve the construction of a three-lane, 1.8-mile extension of South 224th Street up the East Hill.

Council members said the new street will provide an alternate route between the Kent Valley and East Hill, as well as improve safety on the upper portion of the road where it will replace a narrow street that lacks paved shoulders, sidewalks and a turn lane.

“There’s not a safe path for kids,” Councilman Bob O’Brien said prior to the vote. “The primary role of government is to provide safety for its residents.”

The new road will be extended over Highway 167 at South 224th Street, just east of 84th Avenue South. The road will run parallel to Highway 167 on the east side before going up South 218th Street to 98th Avenue South, where it will curve to South 216th Street and then connect to 108th Avenue Southeast (the Benson Highway).

The Council took no additional public comments prior to its vote but had seven public meetings over the last couple of years on the project. Several residents objected at those meetings to the city building a new street through their neighborhood.

Most residents at those meetings also opposed a five-lane alternative originally proposed by city officials.

“The three-lane alternative with turning lane pockets is a compromise,” Councilwoman Deborah Ranniger said at the April 1 meeting. “Some preferred no action, but many acknowledged the safety issue.”

Ranniger added that the left-turn pocket will allow traffic to flow more smoothly. As it is now, she said, vehicles back up whenever another vehicle is waiting to make a left turn.

South 224th Street currently dead ends between a couple of hotels a block east of 84th Avenue South and just west of Highway 167.

The project includes new bridges over Highway 167 and Garrison Creek, as well as sidewalks, shoulders, street lights, left-turn lanes and landscaping.

Because of the steep grade, no marked bike lanes will be constructed, said Tim LaPorte, city deputy public works director. But LaPorte said the new shoulder will be wide enough for bicyclists who want to use the street.

City officials started to plan for the extension of South 224th Street in the 1980s because of the expected growth in neighborhoods near the street. Since 1986, nearly 1,200 homes and 5 million square feet of industrial space have been constructed in neighborhoods near the South 224th Street corridor, said Chad Bieren, the city’s design engineer supervisor.

Traffic problems remain a major issue in Kent, a city of 86,000 that is projected to grow to 120,000 within the next 20 years.

City staff will include neighborhood residents on a design team to help decide locations of turning pockets in the center lane, street lights and other details.

To fund the project, estimated at between $25 million and $35 million, the city has required developments near the proposed street over the last two decades to sign covenants to help pay for the street. The current value of those covenants is about $12.5 million. City officials also will seek funds from state grants and future city budget allocations.

Construction of the street is slated to begin in 2010 and will be completed by 2012.

Contact Steve Hunter at 253-872-6600, ext. 5052 or shunter@reporternewspapers.com.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

File Photo, Kent Reporter
Kent Police arrest man as suspect in fatal shootings at apartment complex

Kent man, 51, taken into custody July 16 after man and woman killed July 14

Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. FILE PHOTO, Kent Reporter
Man found not guilty in Kent fatal shooting of mother’s boyfriend

Jury agrees with self-defense argument to aid his mother after son witnessed years of abuse

File Photo, Kent Reporter
Man, woman fatally shot at Kent apartment complex

Kent Police trying to determine what led up to shooting Monday night, July 14 on East Hill

t
New Veterans Drive tunnel under I-5 in Kent to open to traffic

Tunnel opens July 16 to give drivers another option rather than SR 516 interchange

St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way. Courtesy photo
Medicaid cuts projected to heavily impact, strain local hospitals

84 hospitals across the state — including those in Renton, Federal Way, Auburn, Snoqualmie, Enumclaw and more — are expected to continually lose millions in Medicaid revenue.

t
Man, 19, pleads guilty to 2024 crash that killed Kent baby

Faces sentence for vehicular homicide in death of 21-month-old boy along SR 18 in Maple Valley

t
Kent-based UTOPIA Washington partners with Seattle nonprofit

HealthierHere announces 4 new partnerships to help residents get essential health and social services

t
King County buys building for new Kent animal shelter

Plans to close current site in Kent and move 2 miles north in 2027 at cost of $19.5 million

Courtesy Photo, Kent Cornucopia Days
Street list closure for Kent Cornucopia Days

Downtown streets to close Thursday evening, July 10 through Sunday night, July 13

COURTESY PHOTO, ShoWare Center
The city-owned accesso ShoWare Center in Kent continues to lose money, including about $2.5 million over the last three years.
City of Kent-owned ShoWare Center loses $1 million in 2024

Record-high operating loss since arena opened in 2009; city covers losses from its general fund

Kent Police officers examine a black 2013 Chevrolet Camaro after it crashed July 7 into a day care facility along East Smith Street. COURTESY PHOTO, Puget Sound Fire
Man, 42, could face vehicular assault charge in Kent crash

Federal Way man driving westbound down Smith hill when Chevy Camaro crashed into building

File Photo, Kent Reporter
Kent Police Blotter: June 23 to July 5

Incidents include construction site burglary, cable wire theft, rock thrower