The City of Bellevue’s water, sewer and stormwater systems deliver safe, clean water, move wastewater out of houses and reduce surface flooding. To ensure these services continue reliably, the City needs to replace the Lake Hills Boulevard culvert and repair and/or replace portions of the sewer and water system near Larsen Lake and the Lake Hills Greenbelt.
The Kelsey Creek Culvert at Lake Hills Project is in east Bellevue, near Larsen Lake and the Lake Hills Greenbelt. Lake Hills Boulevard runs through the project area, and its annual weekday traffic is more than 10,500 vehicles.
The project is partially funded by the King County Flood Control District.
Why is this project needed?
There have been several drainage and flooding issues in recent years, including a water main break in the Federal Field parking lot, concerns about the capacity and instability of the Kelsey Creek culverts and significant maintenance needs for other sewer pipes in the area. To minimize disruption on the surrounding community, improve efficiencies between systems and keep costs down, the City will address all these issues at the same time.
The project goal is to develop a comprehensive solution for the Kelsey Creek culvert, Federal Field parking lot sewer and water pipes and sewer pipes next to Federal Field.
Project timeline
The project is in the alternative analysis phase, which is when the project team develops several options to solve the problem and ultimately selects one alternative that meets the project technical needs, is within budget and minimizes impacts on the community. Design has begun and construction is anticipated for late 2025 and early 2026.
Community engagement
The City hosted an Online Open House in December 2021 to gather input on the best design alternative to help resolve drainage and flooding issue in the Kelsey Creek area.
We will use several channels to share updates about the design process, including this project website, EngagingBellevue.com, community and business briefings and more.