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City outlines L90 culvert replacement options; shortened culvert favored to preserve daylighted Lion Creek
Summary
City staff presented alternatives for the L90 culvert under NE 185th at 35th — a long skewed culvert, an open‑channel option that would close 185th, and a shortened 45‑foot culvert design that preserves more daylighted stream and adds sidewalks; staff proposed funding a traffic/intersection study and community outreach.
City staff provided background and design alternatives for the L90 culvert replacement at the SR 104 / 35th / NE 185th area. The prior 65‑foot culvert design would have required substantial tree removal and upstream realignment of the stream bed; staff said that option risked harming the recently daylighted reach WSDOT exposed during the L100 project.
Staff presented an alternate open‑channel concept that would have daylighted more stream but would require closing NE 185th and increase emergency response times; staff said they reached out to the fire marshal and did not pursue that option further. The city is currently studying a shortened culvert option (24' x 7.65' x 45') that reduces the roadway width to allow sidewalks on both sides and preserves more of the daylighted channel.
The staff ask is a contract amendment (approximately $133,000) to fund traffic and feasibility studies and public outreach to evaluate intersection configurations and trade‑offs among vehicle throughput, pedestrian facilities and riparian protection. "It's road or habitat or pedestrians—it's all of these things competing for the same amount of space," staff said and asked to return with public input and engineering results before seeking construction funding (targeting a 2028 fish window for in‑water work).
