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Overlay (Street Paving)

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Overlay Program
The City of Kirkland repaves up to 10 lane-miles of its more traveled streets every year. The Capital Improvement Program pays for about half of those lane-miles. The other half is funded by the Streets Levy, which voters approved in 2012.
Repaving a street can extend its useful life by 10 to 20 years.

The process begins in early summer, with a task known as "lowering iron," during which workers remove utility lids to prevent the damage they would otherwise sustain during the grinding stage.

The grinding stage is when contracted crews use milling machines to remove the top three to five inches of a street's asphalt. Once crews have removed the street's damaged layer of asphalt, they are ready--assuming good weather--to lay down its new asphalt surface.

Kirkland's goal for its street preservation program is to improve the score of its arterial network to 70 on the Pavement Condition Index. The street network's Pavement Condition Index score at the end of 2015 was 65.4. In 2018, it was 70. Some of that improvement, however, can be attributed to a change in how the City measures its street conditions.

Previous updates

(May 30, 2024) -- The City of Kirkland is planning this summer to repave sections of Northeast 132nd, 139th and 140th streets; as well as 18th Avenue and 126th Avenue Northeast.

The specific sections are listed below:

Northeast 132nd Street, from 100th Avenue Northeast to Interstate 405
Northeast 139th Street, from Northeast 140th Street to 97th Avenue Northeast
Northeast 140th Street, from 93rd Avenue Northeast to its street-end
18th Avenue, from Market Street to its street-end
126th Avenue Northeast, from Northeast 80th Street to Northeast 60th Street

Discussions

Timeline

Street selection and design

November - April

Upgrade sidewalk curb ramps

May - August

Neighborhood street preservation

August - September

Repaving streets

June - October

Updates & information

Update (May 30, 2024) -- The 2024 Street Preservation Program will begin construction on August 5th, on Northeast 132nd Street. The contractor will rebuild 20 curb ramps, lower utilities, and overlay from 100th Avenue Northeast to 112th Avenue Northeast.

The following streets will also be overlayed.

Northeast 139th Street, from Northeast 140th Street to 97th Avenue Northeast
Northeast 140th Street, from 93rd Avenue Northeast to its street-end

Additionally, Lakeside Industries will also build a raised crosswalk at O.O. Denny Park across Holmes Point Drive. This improved crossing compliments the two speed cushions installed last fall.

2012 Streets Levy

Kirkland's voters approved a streets levy in 2012 to provide the City with the resources necessary to maintain a functional street network. Every year since, the City of Kirkland has released an accountability report on stewardship of those funds and progress toward those goals. Read the 2019 Levy report.(PDF, 2MB)