The City of Auburn has awarded the contract to remove flood control barriers to Henderson Partners LLC, a Gig Harbor-based company, beginning this month.
The barriers were installed in 2009 to provide extra flood protection after the announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that severe flooding was possible due to a damaged Howard Hanson Dam embankment.
The Corps announced last fall that they are once again operating the dam at full capacity. Removal will begin in August with completion expected by the end of the year.
Henderson Partners LLC’s bid came in at $995,524.73 (with taxes). The project will be paid for through the King County Flood Control District property tax levy. The flood control district will be picking up 75 percent of the cost and the remaining 25 percent will use the City’s portion of the King County Flood Control Opportunity fund.
The King County Flood Control District approved more than $5 million dollars in May to offset costs of removal for the county and the cities after FEMA denied the joint request for reimbursement for flood preparation.
The contractors will be removing the giant sandbags and either selling, reusing or properly disposing of sand, gravel and other materials used to construct the flood fighting walls.
There are approximately 29,668 linear feet (5.62 miles) of various temporary flood control barriers in Auburn. Metal-framed barriers that are in usable condition will be cleaned and returned to the Corps, which loaned the barriers to Auburn.
“We have worked long and hard to get to this point,” said Mayor Pete Lewis, “It’s about time.”
Construction activities, locations:
• Along the west side of the Green River from the 8th Street NE Bridge to S. 277th Street.
• Along S. 277th Street between Auburn Way North and G St. NE.
• Along the East side of Green River north of 8th Street NE to 104th Ave. S.
• Along Green River Road from the Auburn Golf Course to approximately 304th Ave. S.
• Along Mill Creek from S. 277th Street to 44th St. NW.
• Along 44th St NW to I Street NW and approximately 100 feet on I Street NW.
Citizens who live in areas where construction will take place should be cautious of not attempting to remove or disrupt the barriers during the removal process as that could be dangerous and impede the work being done.
For more information, contact the City of Auburn at 253-931-3041.
