Spilman Avenue Improvements Project: Status Update 01/25/2016

We are making progress on the Spilman Avenue reconstruction. The street profile is the “Old Plat Standard” based on Carnation’s Street and Storm Sewer Standards (PDF) that were approved by the City Council in 2013. Per our street standards when it is finished, Spilman Avenue will have a Safe Routes to School grant-funded pathway on the east side of the street and a number of engineered drainage swales to capture and naturally treat the run off from our rains. The swales are constructed with drain rock at certain depths and with special soils. The street will also have four-way stops at each intersection, which were a request by the neighborhood during one of our pre-construction meetings with the residents.

The approved construction schedule allows eighty working days. The contractor is currently at about day 54, (January 25) though we are talking to them about adding some days due to the heavy rains that we have experienced over the past two months. The project is on schedule.  Construction projects like these by their nature look chaotic and basically the street looks like a “war zone” until construction is complete. We expect that the street will be substantially finished by the end of February. The big issue will be getting a good weather window for paving.

These are the milestones that have been completed so far:

The water line is installed and active, however we are still having issues with a problematic leak in a valve cluster.( This sometimes happen when you connect new pipes to the old system that has been in the ground for at least fifty years. Sometimes those old pipes and valves don’t like to be disturbed.)

The gravel base for the pathway has been laid and compacted.

All conduit for the cross walk signals and the streetlights has been installed.

This week the contractor will finish the swales on the west side of Spilman.

The contractor will then begin removal of the old street paving, they will then place the subbase of gravel. Certain portions of the project require some skilled work in getting the elevations and the fall correct so that driveways, the path and the road all drain to the new swales.

The contractor will then pave the road, driveways and the pathway and complete the swales on the east side of Spilman.

After that will be the installation of lights, striping and landscaping, and at some point a ribbon cutting for Carnations ”newest” old street.

If you have any questions or comments about the Spilman Reconstruction project please contact me at philm@carnationwa.gov or 425 333 4192.