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Evans Creek relocation delayed by complex King County permitting; staff estimate $1M per year in delay costs

City of Redmond Committee of the Whole — Planning & Public Works · February 4, 2026

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Summary

Public Works updated council on permitting challenges for the Evans Creek relocation project: staff are negotiating with King County about floodway mapping, bridge standards and sequencing; a Friday meeting aims to clarify permits, staff estimate roughly $1 million in cost increase per year of delay and expect construction in 2027 if permits are issued this spring.

Public Works Director Aaron Burke updated the Planning & Public Works Committee on Feb. 3 about the Evans Creek relocation project, which has been delayed roughly two years because of complex permitting at federal and county levels. Burke said staff have made progress with King County’s Local Services and Water and Land Resources division but the county has not previously permitted a project that creates a new stream channel and has novel concerns about floodway mapping and bridge‑clearance standards.

Burke said a meeting with county regulators scheduled for the coming Friday aims to clarify sequencing, the applicable mapping and the permits needed to move the project forward. He described technical sticking points—King County’s initial application of road‑standard bridge criteria to what the city intends as pedestrian trail bridges and concerns about creating a new floodway on county property—and said staff are working to show that adjusted mapping and reduced clearance requirements (e.g., 1 foot vs. 3 feet) would be appropriate based on project design and mitigation.

On funding, Burke said the city has absorbed prior funding from multiple sources and has capacity in the CIP to cover additional costs, but each year of delay has added roughly $1,000,000 to the projected cost; after two years of delay staff estimate about $2,000,000 in additional cost. Burke said legislative action and a maintenance and operations agreement with King County will be part of the process and estimated the county internal process could take about two months. If permitting and sequencing are clarified by spring, Burke said the city could bid in summer and begin construction in 2027.

Councilmembers asked for a staff report with clearer discussion of risk, mitigation measures, cost differentials for pedestrian‑scale versus road‑standard bridges and an updated total‑spent and projected total cost timeline for the next meeting.