King County sets May 22 meeting to discuss projects to improve safety at Houghton Transfer Station

Safety upgrades and a long list of improvement projects, including a new roof, are planned for King County's Houghton Transfer Station in Kirkland.

The county has scheduled a May 22 community meeting to give everyone an opportunity to learn more about the many projects that are scheduled for this four-decade-old facility. The meeting is set for 7-8:30 p.m. at Ben Franklin Elementary School, 12434 NE 60th St., Kirkland.

The list of projects for the Houghton Transfer Station upgrade, which was created in conjunction with the City of Kirkland, includes:

• Replacing the transfer building roof over the existing floor footprint
• Constructing a sound barrier wall on the west side of the station
• Building a pedestrian pathway along the north side of Northeast 60th Street between 116th Avenue Northeast and 120th Avenue Northeast
• Replacing the old sewer pump station with a new gravity sewer
• Reconfiguring the trailer parking area and on-site traffic control for safer use
• Increasing user safety by improving the approach to the transfer building tunnel area
• Improving exit traffic control safety features.

The Houghton Transfer Station is at 11727 NE 60th St. in Kirkland. Sitting on 8.4 acres at the south end of the old Houghton landfill, the transfer station is about 40 years old and receives mixed municipal solid waste and source-separated recyclables from commercial garbage haulers and self-haulers.

More information about King County Solid Waste Division facilities is available online at http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/facilities/index.asp on the Internet.