Logging in Bonney Lake may cause logjams on Highway 410
Logging has begun on a 35-acre site adjacent to Bonney Lake’s major arterial, state Route 410, to clear the way for construction of a $30 million Costco discount warehouse.
Contractors warned that lanes of the major highway could be closed temporarily when the tree cutting work nears the road.
Flaggers will control traffic during the logging work near the highway. Those closures are set to begin Saturday after 10:30 p.m. Traffic on South Prairie Road on the north side of the wooded site also could be briefly interrupted during the logging, the city said.
Clearing the site is the first physical step toward preparing the land for construction. Costco purchased its store site from an Ohio developer, Visconsi Properties. Visconsi bought the tract from Weyerhaeuser Co.
Costco plans to build a 155,000-square-foot store and a fueling station on part of the shopping center property. Visconsi plans to erect up to 150,000 square feet of retail buildings on the remainder of the site. Costco has said it will open in 2018. The closest Costco to Bonney Lake is on Puyallup’s South Hill.
The shopping center site has been part of a forest preserve since 1941. That’s when Weyerhaeuser donated the 147-acre tract to Washington State University. When WSU ended research activity on the site several years ago, the property reverted to Weyerhaeuser. The forest preserve stretches from state Route 410 to the intersection of 214th Avenue East and South Prairie Road.
A Seattle developer has applied for permits to build a multifamily apartment complex on the eastern half of the preserve. Weyerhaeuser has donated 50 acres of the land to Bonney Lake. The city plans to create a mid-town park on that site, but thus far has no money to do so.
The city will build a new traffic signal and turn lane from 410 at 204th Avenue East to provide access to the center. The cost of that intersection project will be paid with tax receipts from the new retail businesses there.
John Gillie: 253-597-8663
This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Logging in Bonney Lake may cause logjams on Highway 410."