Sixth Street Corridor Improvement Project Celebrates Completion

Published on October 23, 2019

Media Contact:
Kellie Stickney
Communications Program Manager
kstickney@kirklandwa.gov
(425) 979-6562

KIRKLAND, Wash. – The City of Kirkland celebrated the completion of the Sixth Street Corridor Improvement Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, October 23.

The ceremony commemorated the end of a series of significant infrastructure improvements along the Sixth Street corridor aimed at enhancing public safety while boosting capacity and increasing reliability of City water and sewer systems. The project incorporates key improvements at Sixth Street South’s intersections at Ninth Avenue and Kirkland Way, with a pair of new four-way traffic signals and additional efficiencies at Sixth Street and Kirkland Way meant to better accommodate transit traffic flow and help reduce Sixth Street South’s commuter congestion. The four-way traffic signals and sidewalk improvements were funded by SRM development, as part of their mitigation efforts for the development of Kirkland’s Google site.

In addition to the water, sewer and intersection improvements, the project rehabilitated and repaved the roadway from Fourth Avenue to Northeast 68th Street, smoothing out a notoriously bumpy stretch of pavement and adding new sidewalks and curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Having the ability to travel throughout the City with ease – whether walking, biking, driving or riding transit – is a key contributor to the quality of life of our residents and guests,” said Mayor Penny Sweet. “Importantly, this project aligns with our goal of providing safer routes to school for our youngest residents, serving our kids at Lakeview Elementary School with an improved sidewalk system.”

The utilities portion of the project, which launched in 2018 and was completed earlier this year, upgraded five-decade-old water and sewer mains underneath the street. A total of 2,200 linear feet of eight-inch water main between Northeast 68th Street and Fifth Avenue South was upgraded to 16-inch ductile iron pipe. With that, more than 1,000 feet of sewer main between Northeast 68th Street and Eighth Avenue South was upgraded to eight- and 12-inch high-density polyurethane pipe.

“Projects like the Sixth Street Corridor Improvement Project not only build capacity and enhance safety for Kirkland families, they make the City more accessible to all those who live, work and play here,” Sweet said. “I want to thank the community for its incredible patience as we worked to complete this landmark project, particularly to our residents in the Everest neighborhood.”

For more information on the Sixth Street Corridor Improvement Project, please visit the City website at: https://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/Public_Works/Construction_Projects/Capital_Improvements/Google_Vicinity_Projects.htm.