Environmental

The Briscoe Desimone levee project was upgraded as part of a flood-risk reduction project to improve public safety and protect the Kent Valley. Four sections (reaches) of the levees did not meet slope and stability requirements and needed repair to meet the accreditation requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The repair consisted of the installation of structural sheet pile walls at the back of the existing levee slope to act as a secondary levee to reduce flood risk to the cities of Kent, Tukwila and Renton and protect the large number of warehouses, manufacturing facilities and retail establishments behind the levees.

This portion of the project addressed Reaches 2 & 3 of the Briscoe Desimone Levee Improvements project,  including the construction of 3,177 feet of a secondary levee floodwall landward of the Briscoe Levee consisting of driven sheet piles and reinforced concrete. This project included excavation of approximately 32,000 cubic yards of soil on the riverside of the levee to construct a vegetated bench; as well as landscaping, parking lot reconstruction, approximately 1,700 tons of asphalt pavement for levee trail, and two cement concrete retaining walls.