Local

City celebrates completion of parkway expansion project
By Jim Feehan and David Hayes
The completion of Coal Creek Parkway this month marks a three-phase, eight-year journey. The city’s largest Public Works project relieves the bottleneck through Newcastle along the regional thoroughfare that connects Renton and Bellevue by widening Coal Creek Parkway from two lanes to four lanes from Newcastle Way to the Southeast 95th Way.
Later this month, various local, state and federal officials will return to Coal Creek Parkway to commemorate the completion of the project. The ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 16.
“I feel great pride in the completion of Coal Creek Parkway improvements,” said City Councilwoman Jean Garber, who was at the initial ribbon cutting ceremony six years ago. “It shows that with a commitment on the part of the council and staff, Newcastle’s limited resources can be leveraged to achieve a monumental outcome.
“I hope residents who walk, bike, or drive this scenic roadway share the pride I feel. To me, the red bridge is a symbol of what we can accomplish when we all work together.”
First plans face hurdles
City officials wanted to widen the parkway since Newcastle incorporated in 1994. The first step 10 years ago was approving a six-year Transportation Improvement Plan that included the following estimates:
q Phase one — $11.8 million for widening, pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, signals, lighting, median and transit facilities, from Southeast 84th Place to Southeast 72nd Place.
q Phase two — $19.4 million for similar projects from Southeast 95th Street to Southeast 84th Place.
Construction was slated to start in summer 2000, with phase one completed in 2003.
The first hurdle to the project came in 2000, when 11 homeowners refused to sell their properties along the western edge of the parkway project. They claimed the city’s representative either didn’t negotiate in good faith or underbid what their properties were actually worth. After 10 other homeowners agreed to sell, the City Council voted Feb. 15, 2000, to condemn the 11 properties of holdout homeowners.
The project hit its second hurdle when city officials decided to delay the start until spring 2001 after experiencing issues with permits, property acquisitions and funding.
City officials negotiated with the property owners, needing a court order to acquire the final property. That cleared the way for bids to go out, and city officials approved a $5.767 million contract to Marshbank Construction, of Lake Stevens. Groundbreaking was finally kicked off March 16, 2002.
The first phase of the project widened the parkway from two lanes to four between Newcastle Way to the entrance of the Olympus neighborhood and Lake Boren Park at Southeast 84th Street. Improvements included a median, left turn lanes, additional traffic signals, bicycle lanes and sidewalks.
Funding becomes an issue
As city officials searched for additional sources of funding to meet growing costs for phases two and three, the City Council considered dropping the later phases if that search was not successful. Another $1 million injection from the county transportation budget kept plans for phase two alive.
Cost overruns, including the need to blast apart a rockslide, drove the cost of phase one up to $14.4 million.
Each member of the City Council, as well as several Planning Commission members and city staff were on hand to celebrate the opening of the first phase of the project during a November 2003 ribbon cutting ceremony. Following speeches from city and county representatives, a group of council members and children paraded up Coal Creek Parkway for a few blocks in vintage cars. Phase one opened to traffic Nov. 8, 2003.
Two years later, the city received an $11.3 million grant from the state Transportation Improvement Board for the completion of phases two and three.
Transportation projects in the state move forward with the help of competitive state grants awarded by the board, which was created by the Legislature to foster state investments in local projects.
Engineering for phases two and three were about 60 percent complete when the grant was announced. Up to that point, the board had invested $25 million in five earlier stages of Coal Creek Parkway, stretching from Interstate 405 in Bellevue, through Newcastle and south to state Route 900 in the Renton Highlands.
In February 2006, design elements for the final two phases of the parkway were unanimously approved by the City Council. They included plans for sidewalks, realigning Southeast 89th Place with Coal Creek Parkway and the design for the May Creek Bridge, with sidewalks on both sides and a center meridian. The design called for the bridge to be topped with several arches reminiscent of the original May Creek Railroad trestle in contemporary form. The trusses that run the length of the bridge are painted brick red.
‘Bold action paid off’
Stevan Gorcester, the executive director of the state Transportation Improvement Board, applauded the city’s efforts to secure funding for the parkway and tackling such a large Public Works project.
“I am thrilled to see the successful completion of this project,” Gorcester said. “The city took on a big project and they assumed some risk. Sometimes, you have to take bold action and that bold action paid off.”
Coal Creek Parkway is a major arterial paralleling Interstate 405 and will grow more important in the coming months as the state undertakes a major upgrade to I-405, he said.
Construction of the final mile of the Coal Creek Parkway project began in September 2007, widening the parkway from Southeast 84th Street to Southeast 95th Way and replacing the narrow two-lane May Creek Bridge, which was built in 1951. The parkway remained open during the past 22 months as crews demolished the old bridge, widened the roadway, added bike lanes and sidewalks and built a retaining wall north of the Highlands entrance to the intersection of Southeast 89th Place.
The project came in under budget and on time. In the waning hours of this year’s session, the Legislature came through with $3 million for the project.
Maiya Andrews, the city’s Public Works director, said the city is thankful for its funding partners and the trust they placed in Newcastle spending their money wisely.
The parkway improvements will help commuters who opt to bypass I-405, but it also offers amenities to pedestrians and bicyclists, Andrews said.
“This is something we can look back at and be proud of,” she said.
The May Creek Bridge, open to traffic May 26, features wider sidewalks. By Greg Farrar

The May Creek Bridge, open to traffic May 26, features wider sidewalks. By Greg Farrar

The completion of Coal Creek Parkway this month marks a three-phase, eight-year journey. The city’s largest Public Works project relieves the bottleneck through Newcastle along the regional thoroughfare that connects Renton and Bellevue by widening Coal Creek Parkway from two lanes to four lanes from Newcastle Way to the Southeast 95th Way. Read more »

Sports

Liberty athletes lead Castaway Polo team to girls state title
Two Newcastle athletes were members of the Castaway Polo Athletic team that won the state water polo title last month with a 10-7 win against Mercer Island High School.
Mackenzie Maynes and Sarah Lowes both scored goals and had assists in the May 15 championship match against Mercer Island.
Castaway Polo Athletic surged to an 8-2 lead before the half and held off a late surge by the Islanders to capture the title.
Maynes, a senior at Liberty High School, will attend Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on an athletic scholarship to play water polo. Lowes is a junior at Liberty.
The victory capped an undefeated season, which was remarkable considering the squad had only seven members.
Water polo is the oldest continuous Olympic team sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper.  So, any injuries or illnesses would have forced a forfeit, because matches require seven players.
Castaway Polo Athletic trains at the Edgebrook Club, near Tyee Junior High School in Bellevue. The team is made up of players from high schools that do not have water polo. The squad has players from Liberty, Sammamish, Eastside Catholic and Holy Names high schools.
Maynes and Lowes were also members of Liberty’s swim team last season.
The team is scheduled to participate in the U.S. Club Water Polo championships July 10-12 in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the water polo girls Junior Olympics July 30-Aug. 2 at San Jose, Calif.
Sarah Lowes (No. 8), of Newcastle, a water polo player for Castaway Polo Athletic team, in action during the state championship match against Mercer Island High School. contributed

Sarah Lowes (No. 8), of Newcastle, a water polo player for Castaway Polo Athletic team, in action during the state championship match against Mercer Island High School. contributed

Two Newcastle athletes were members of the Castaway Polo Athletic team that won the state water polo title last month with a 10-7 win against Mercer Island High School.   Read more »

Schools

Gloriana serves up country music in Liberty High School cafeteria

Liberty High School students were looking forward to lunch May 15 and it wasn’t for the chicken nuggets on the menu. 

Members of the band Gloriana are (from left) Mike Gossin, Rachel Reinert, Cheyenne Kimball and Tom Gossin. By Jim Feehan

Members of the band Gloriana are (from left) Mike Gossin, Rachel Reinert, Cheyenne Kimball and Tom Gossin. By Jim Feehan

Gloriana, an up-and-coming country band touring with Taylor Swift, performed during lunch in the commons and later signed autographs.

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