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NE Lake Joy Road Culvert Replacement Project - King County
Project completed in 2021
Crews completed all the major work on the project in October 2021 and reopened the road to two-way traffic with temporary centerline striping. They returned in November 2021 to place the permanent striping and remove the orange cones.
Map
NE Lake Joy Road just north of NE 118th Place. The Lake Joy community is northeast of Stillwater and Carnation, and east of SR 203. NE Lake Joy Road is the only road into and out of the community.
Project description
This project replaced an existing 4-foot-round diameter underground metal pipe culvert with a new, 14-foot-wide, eight-foot-high concrete box culvert. The previous corrugated metal culvert was rusted and had outlived its useful life. The larger concrete culvert helps prevent flooding and improves fish passage under NE Lake Joy Road by simulating natural stream conditions.
Before
The old, corrugated metal pipe was rusted and needed to be replaced.
After
The new, 14-foot-wide, eight-foot-high concrete box culvert helps prevent flooding and improves fish passage under NE Lake Joy Road by simulating natural stream conditions.
Why did King County do this project?
The previous round culvert pipe was failing. It is old and worn out. If the pipe was not replaced, flood water and debris could exceed the capacity of the old culvert and cause road damage or worse, it could wash the road away completely.The old metal culvert did not meet current design standards for flood control and healthy fish passage. Healthy fish passage requires a culvert that is large enough to handle swift water during storm events. The culvert also must be able to hold enough water during the dry season for fish to swim through.
The new, wider culvert helps prevent flooding and allows fish to migrate freely upstream or downstream with minimal impact.
Project Photos
September 27, 2021 – The streambed is now restored and the stream is able to pass through the finished culvert.
September 20, 2021 - Crews use large rollers to smooth over the newly installed asphalt on one half of the roadway. The other half will be paved later in September or in early October, weather permitting.
September 20, 2021 - A view from underneath NE Lake Joy Road, looking under the culvert as crews install the new road above.
September 20, 2021 - The streambed is now installed on the floor of the box culvert. The stream will be reintroduced after the road on top of the culvert is fully built.
A large crane is used to move concrete slabs off of the semi-truck and onto the ground below.
Workers move one of the last sections of concrete into place on the second half of the new culvert.
Here’s a view of the culvert looking west just after the second half was installed. The first half of the culvert was installed on August 9, 2021. The second half was installed on August 31, 2021. The first half has rocks on the floor of the culvert to mimic the bottom of a natural stream. Crews also will add rocks to the second half.
The first section of the new concrete culvert is lowered into place on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.
King County dug out and removed the old, rusted corrugated metal culvert pipe on Aug. 2, 2021.
Crews excavate a 20-foot-deep pit to install the first sections of the new concrete culvert, Aug. 3, 2021.
The first three sections of new concrete culvert arrive at the project site on Aug. 9, 2021. Crews used a large crane to install them under NE Lake Joy Road.