Aurora complete to 192nd - ribbon cutting ceremony

City Council, City staff cut the ribbon
for completion of the 185-192nd section of Aurora
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

After a year and a half, construction on Aurora from N 185th to N 192nd Streets is complete.

Improvements to this segment are very similar to the previous miles of the Aurora Corridor Project, and include delineated driveways, wider sidewalks, landscaped center medians with left- and U-turn pockets, and BAT (Business Access and Transit) lanes.

Two features unique to this segment are the rain garden plaza on the southwest corner of Aurora and N 192nd Street and the “green” retaining walls. Beneath the plaza is a major drainage facility to collect stormwater from Aurora and control the flow of water entering nearby Echo Lake.

The “green” retaining walls allow low-maintenance, evergreen and deciduous plant species to grow on and cover the face of the walls.

State and federal grants totaling $10.8 million were recently awarded to the City for the final segment of Aurora, which means the City has reached the minimum funding needed to start construction. At this time it is anticipated that final design and right-of-way certification will be in place by Summer 2012 allowing the project to go out to bid and begin construction in early 2013.

More information about the Aurora Corridor.

The ribbon-cutting was held on the rain garden plaza (storm water control) at the 192nd Street Park and Ride. Steve Gorcester from the Transportation Improvement Board presented a plaque to commemorate this section of the corridor's completion. Russ East, Assistant Regional Administrator for Sno-King Area WSDOT, spoke about the completion and the start of the final section beginning within six months. Mayor Keith McGlashan spoke about the on-going project and plans for the final stretch between 192nd and 205th.