HomeMy WebLinkAboutProject NarrativeCity of Renton
TEMPORARY USE PERMIT APPLICATION
AND SHORELINE EXEMPTION
ERC Rail Removal Phase 1 Project
Project Narrative
10-31-2016
Page 1 of 4
Location
This project is located on the Eastside Rail Corridor (ERC), a former freight rail corridor
formerly owned by BNSF and currently owned and maintained by King County Parks
and Recreation Division. The project limits are from the County’s ownership in Renton
at MP 5.0 (adjacent to the north end of Gene Coulon Park) to 108th Ave NE in Bellevue
(at Kirkland City limits boundary). The corridor crosses the City of Renton, City of
Bellevue and unincorporated King County jurisdictions. See vicinity map on plan sheet
for the location in City of Renton jurisdiction.
The portion of the project in the City of Renton is located adjacent to Commercial
Office/Residential and Residential 6/8/10 zoning with an area of the railbed covering 2
acres.
Basis for Shoreline Exemption Request
Normal maintenance or repair of existing structures or developments is the basis for a
shoreline exemption for this project. Removal of the rail infrastructure will improve
access, efficiency and safety for maintenance and operations and, in the interim, improve
safety in the corridor for pedestrians and wide tired bicycles until the corridor can be
developed into a regional trail.
No critical areas will be impacted by the project because of the following avoidance
measures:
· No in-water work,
· All work is within existing railbed and no expansion of the rail prism will occur,
· No clearing will occur,
· Only existing access point will be used for construction access,
· Fence will be installed on the railbed to avoid impact to the steep slope.
Anticipated Dates of Work
For phase 1 rail removal, the anticipated construction start date is March 1, 2017 with
estimated construction duration of 90 calendar days to completion.
Other Permits Required for Proposed Project
City of Renton:
· Temporary Use Permit, Shoreline Exemption, and Critical Area Exemption
Washington State Department of Ecology:
· NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permit
City of Renton
TEMPORARY USE PERMIT APPLICATION
AND SHORELINE EXEMPTION
ERC Rail Removal Phase 1 Project
Project Narrative
10-31-2016
Page 2 of 4
Existing Land Use
Since King County acquired portions of the corridor in 2013 for non-motorized
transportation, the current use has been designated as a regional trail with sparse
pedestrian users. King County Parks has maintained the corridor by clearing invasive
and hazardous vegetation, preventing illegal dumping, preventing encroachment,
cleaning culverts, hand placement of quarry spalls for scour protection, and addressing
graffiti problems. However, not all of the desired maintenance has been performed
because regular and heavy maintenance equipment cannot access all areas of the corridor
due to the old railroad rails and ties.
The existing conditions consist of a railbed running along the center of the 100 foot wide
right-of-way with longstanding vegetation on both sides and a compacted fill berm of
ballast. The ballast berm is elevated to create a flat railway. The side slopes of the fill
berm are sloped downward to facilitate proper drainage away from the rails. The
exposed ballast on the side slopes disperses storm water runoff either to ditches at the toe
of the rail berm or to vegetation within the trail corridor.
Land use adjacent to the site is a combination of commercial office and residential. The
current zoning classification adjacent to the site is primarily COR, R-6, R-8 and R-10,
respectively.
Streams, Wetland, Steep Slopes
The rail removal project is adjacent to May Creek, Lake Washington, steep slopes outside
the railbed along the corridor, and four cut slope wetlands (see report),
No in-water work will occur and no critical areas will be impacted by the project.
Soil Type and Drainage Conditions
The ERC is within the Puget Sound Lowlands and is underlain by post-glacial, glacial
and pre-glacial soil deposits referred to as peat, alluvium, recessional outwash, glacial till,
advance outwash, advance outwash/transitional beds, pre-Fraser glacial drift and non-
glacial deposits, and undifferentiated glacial drift [Geological Conditions Inventory,
Eastside Rail Corridor, Regional Trail Master Plan Project].
The rail removal project will maintain the existing railroad ballast and railbed prism.
There will be no impact to existing drainage facilities such as open ditches or cross
culverts.
Proposed Use
City of Renton
TEMPORARY USE PERMIT APPLICATION
AND SHORELINE EXEMPTION
ERC Rail Removal Phase 1 Project
Project Narrative
10-31-2016
Page 3 of 4
Removal of the rail infrastructure will improve access, efficiency and safety for
maintenance and operations and, in the interim, improve safety in the corridor for
pedestrians and wide tired bicycles until the corridor can be developed into a regional
trail.
The maintenance and safety repair project along the ERC proposes rail and timber ties
removal; minor grading of the railroad ballast to even out the railbed, and placement of 4-
inches of ADA-compliant crushed gravel material on the railbed to enhance maintenance
access and user safety. All work will be done within the existing footprint of the 10 feet
wide railbed to avoid impact to adjacent criteria area (steep slopes, wetland, shoreline,
streams, etc.). The project will also include appropriate safety signage installation at
crossings, placement of removable bollards and boulders at crossings, installation of
chain link fencing for fall protection in the vicinity of steep slopes, and installation of
critical area signage along sensitive areas (i.e. wetlands). See the geotechnical evaluation
regarding the rail removal, grading, and fence installation on the ballast fill berm,
concluding that the adjacent steep slopes will not be affected.
Contaminated soil is present along the rail right-of-way adjacent to the Pt. Quendall
superfund site. Rail removal will be part of this project permitting package with a
separate emergency project to cap 6” to 9” of crushed gravel and installation of chain link
fencing to delineate the contaminated area within the rail corridor property until such
time as the full site remediation is completed under EPA direction.
May Creek and Ripley Lane trestles retrofit and rail removal will be completed as a
separate project.
Site Access
Access to the site for construction activities will be at existing crossings along the
corridor as shown on the Plans. Allowable storage and staging area are shown on the
Plans at various locations within King County right-of-way.
Total Estimated Construction Cost
The total estimated construction cost for the project from City of Renton limits to the
City of Bellevue limits is approximately $1,700,000.
Estimated Quantities and Type of Materials
After rails and timber ties are removed, rough grade and compact the existing railroad
ballast to even out the 10 feet wide railbed and slope to drain towards the existing cut
slope ditch. A 4-inch depth ADA crushed gravel materials will be placed on top of the
City of Renton
TEMPORARY USE PERMIT APPLICATION
AND SHORELINE EXEMPTION
ERC Rail Removal Phase 1 Project
Project Narrative
10-31-2016
Page 4 of 4
existing railroad ballast. The fill quantity for the ADA crushed gravel materials is
approximately of 910 cubic yards within the City of Renton limits.
Tree Removal
No trees will be removed as a result of the rail removal project.
Distance from OHWM
The closest area of work to the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) of Lake
Washington at various locations along the corridor is approximately 80 feet from the
railbed.
For May Creek, the closet work area to OHWM on either side of the trestle is
approximately 20 feet.
No construction activities are proposed with the OHWM of May Creek or Lake
Washington.
Wetland
There are four cut slope wetlands along the corridor at various locations within the City
of Renton jurisdiction. Rail removal will only be on the railbed and no impact to
adjacent wetlands.
Nature of Existing Shoreline
Lake Washington shoreline consists of residential houses, docks, VMAC, and park
facilities.
May Creek shoreline consists of vegetated riparian buffer upstream and downstream
along the banks of the stream.
Proposed Project Exceeds a Height of 35-feet Above Average Grade
There are no building structures proposed on this project to impact view on existing and
surrounding residential units.