City staff updated the Orting City Council on July 30 about the Kansas Street Southwest reconstruction project, which covers Kansas Street SW from County Lane SW to Harmon Way S. Staff said design work began in 2020 and that Parametrix completed the final design in June 2025.

Ashley de Grafenreid, the city’s capital projects manager, said the project will reconstruct the roadway, replace water main, improve stormwater, add sidewalks and ADA ramps, upgrade lighting, and improve crosswalks to address poor pavement condition and uneven sidewalks. The design provides 12‑foot travel lanes, an 8‑foot parking lane where currently there is none, and 5‑foot sidewalks.

De Grafenreid told council that outreach in 2024 identified safe routes to school, improved crosswalks and traffic calming as priorities. The project requires temporary construction easements from some property owners; one easement remained unsigned at the time of the meeting. Utilities must be relocated before bidding: Puget Sound Energy must move a gas line, a PSE power bank and Lumen must relocate lines off utility poles so poles can be removed.

Staff said the engineer’s construction estimate came in higher than the grant award. The project has a Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant requiring a 10% city match for roadway work; utility work (water, storm) must be paid from utility enterprise funds because TIB will not cover those elements. De Grafenreid said staff plan to bid the project in October, present to the TIB board in November for potential additional funding and anticipate awarding a construction contract in December for a 275‑day contract.

Council members asked about sidewalk widths and learned the city’s standard residential sidewalk is 4 feet; the project design uses 5 feet because the original project/grant application included non‑motorized elements to score higher in grant reviews. Staff said changing that now could require grant revisions and risk objections in a competitive funding program.

No council action was required that night. Staff said they will finish utility relocations, secure the last temporary easement, publish an RFQ for construction management/inspection and return with a bid and funding update after TIB review.

Outcome: Informational presentation; no action required.