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Committee accepts Linwood Avenue sidewalk project, forwards final acceptance and bond release to council
Summary
Tumwater’s public works committee accepted the Linwood Avenue sidewalk project (Susitna Lane to 2nd Avenue) as complete and voted March 5 to place final acceptance on the March 17 council consent calendar; the final contract totaled $1,683,380.45, about 15.96% over the original estimate after authorized overrun.
The Tumwater Public Works Committee on March 5 heard a final acceptance presentation for the Linwood Avenue sidewalk project and voted to forward the item to the March 17 city council consent calendar with a recommendation that the mayor accept the project as complete and release the performance bond as allowed by state law.
Colby Fletcher, construction manager in the city’s transportation engineering department, summarized a multimodal project that reconstructed and infilled sidewalks on Linwood Avenue from Susitna Lane to 2nd Avenue, upgraded 31 curb ramps to current ADA standards, added bicycle facility improvements and traffic calming, and coordinated with the Tumwater School District and Intercity Transit to maintain access during construction. Fletcher said the work ties into the nearby 2nd Avenue corridor and Peanut Roundabout improvements.
Fletcher gave project metrics: approximately 3,750 linear feet of reconstructed sidewalk (transcript wording varied), 16 new or improved pedestrian crossings, 31 new curb ramps, about 87,000 square feet of roadway repaving and roughly 3,700 linear feet of new curb and gutter. He said construction began Sept. 3, substantial completion was reached May 6, 2025, and physical completion occurred June 10, 2025.
On funding and costs, Fletcher said the project used Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) funds, a $371,250 fuel tax agreement and local transportation funds. He gave an engineer’s estimate of $1,497,819.60, the lowest bid at $1,451,572, and a final contract total of $1,683,380.45. Fletcher told the committee the project finished approximately 15.96% over budget; council granted authority in March 2025 to exceed the standard 10% threshold to allow the additional work to be completed.
Councilmembers praised staff and the contractor for coordinating with school and transit partners and urged the communications team to highlight the completed work on the city/Facebook pages so residents can see the improvements. Fletcher characterized the project as "an overall, very successful project" and opened the item to questions before the committee voted to forward final acceptance to the March 17 consent calendar.
The committee’s recommendation asks the council to accept the project as complete and to authorize release of the performance bond when state law permits; final acceptance and bond release are subject to council action and state statutory timing.
