This article was originally published by Deanna Isaacs via The Auto Reporter.
An 880-foot road extension in Kirkland has earned top honors in the Greenroads Foundation rating certificate – that of Silver Certification – and the title of Greenest Road in the World.
“Other projects have rated Greenroads Silver, but no project has earned 46 [out of 118] points,” said Dr. Jeralee Anderson, Executive Director of Greenroads. This project also participated very early on in the research and development of the Greenroads Rating System as a Pilot Project in 2010. “The City of Kirkland made a commitment right from the start to make this as green as possible and it shows. That’s a testament to Kirkland’s commitment to sustainability.”
The road connects Slater Avenue with NE 124th Street, saving commuters in the gas they would use going around either on 124th Avenue or around via Slater Avenue, and was created using eco-friendly practices.
Twenty-percent of the pavement materials were made from recycled content from other roads, had an overall 15.9-percent of the project’s content was recycled and the hardscape areas were reused from materials onsite. The intended length of time it will be useable was also a factor.
“One major decision right at the outset was the replacement of 20-year pavement the use of 40-year pavement instead of 20-year pavement decisions,” Jesse Thomsen, Senior Project Manager at Perteet, the design lead on the project. “Designers assume it’s always going to be more expensive, but we worked with the client and looked at the TOTAL lifecycle cost and the benefit to the city. In the end, it didn’t cost more to use Greenroads and the city got a longer lasting road.”
Not only will Kirkland drivers and pedestrians save time, but it was also the first new street Kirkland has built in more than 20 years.
“For the City of Kirkland, the entire project was a winner,” Thomsen said.
While the drivers who use it may not realize that the road is pretty eco-friendly, they will be noticing the dropped wait times.
