Posted on July 21, 2016
A big dredging project on the Cedar River in Renton could help protect homes, roads and bridges from major flooding this winter.
Crews plan to dredge more than 120,000 cubic yards of gravel and sediment from a 1.25 mile stretch of the river.
That`s enough to fill about 1,600 swimming pools.
“It’s a significant amount of sediment that we’re clearing,” said Preeti Shridhar, spokesperson for the City of Renton. “We’re also helping with the vegetation around the banks and the pipes’ overflow.”
The city says the project will repair unstable banks, outfall from storm pipes will be improved, vegetation will be replanted and invasive vegetation next to a levee and floodwall will be removed.
The likely result will be a reduced risk of flooding to private, public and commercial properties.
The dredging operation starts at the mouth of the river at Lake Washington and continues upstream to the Williams Street Bridge.
“This is an area that’s surrounded by industrial as well as recreational needs. We’ve got the Boeing plant and this is also where the Renton Airport is, so this is an important, major project.”
The river runs adjacent to the airport, on its west bank, and the Boeing plant on the east.
Crews will also work on removing logjams.
Parts of the river will close during dredging, including the boat ramp near the mouth of the river, at times.
The major dredging portion of the work will be done this month and in August, when the river level is at its lowest.
Other restoration work is expected to continue through November.
The King County Flood Control District is funding over $13 million for the overall project. It’s also providing close to $7.5 million to fund the construction portion of the work.
Source: Q13FOX
