With negotiations done, 18th Street work starts today
Project will widen intersection with 112th
By Andrea Damewood
Published: October 25, 2010, 12:00am
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After months of planning and negotiations with neighbors, construction will begin today to improve Northeast 18th Street, from the intersection at Northeast 112th Avenue to Northeast Four Seasons Lane.
The work — the first segment of the city’s 18th Street Improvement Project — will widen the intersection at Northeast 112th Avenue to seven lanes in all four directions and provide two new left-turn lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane, as well as bicycle lanes.
Construction will take place in two phases to maintain two-way traffic through the major construction effort, though drivers should be prepared for possible delays, the city said in a news release.
The project will include new traffic signals and landscaping. Retaining walls will be built on both the west and east sides of Northeast 112th Avenue, south of Northeast 18th Street, and along the south side of Northeast 18th Street, east of Northeast 112th Avenue.
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Construction is expected to be completed by fall 2011. Vancouver senior civil engineer Chris Malone said in July that prolonged negotiations with property owners around the intersection would mean the city would miss its summer construction window.
Agreements reached
At one point, the city council authorized planners to use eminent domain to take some of the land, but in each case agreements were made without condemnation. The city reached an agreement with the final property owners, Mountain View Place LLC, about a month and a half ago, said Mark Erikson, the attorney who represented the owners.
Vancouver and the owners of the Mountain View Place Apartments at the corner of Northeast 112th and Northeast 18th had reached an impasse. The apartment complex was holding out until the city agreed to regrade its sole driveway to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act. Without the regrading, the city’s roadwork would have put the driveway out of compliance with that law, Erikson said. The city agreed to construct a new driveway and parking area, setting the stage for work to move forward.
The city also reached agreements with the Nuttman family, which owned a three-story house and land that the city needs for construction; the Bonneville Power Association; and Joe’s Place Farm. The city’s total budget for planning and acquiring the land is $1.5 million.
The estimated cost of the first segment is $10.25 million, provided through $5.65 million in federal funding, $1.62 million in state Transportation Improvement Board funding and $2.98 in local funding from traffic impact fees, bonds and developer contributions. Rotschy Inc. of Vancouver is the contractor.
Northeast 18th Avenue has been marked by the city as an arterial set for major improvements over three stages. Someday, the west section from Northeast 87th to Northeast 98th avenues will be two travel lanes, while the street east of 98th Avenue will be widened to five lanes, Malone has said. However, the city has no current funding in its capital fund to pay for any new roads.
