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Mercer Corridor Project – Environmental Stewardship: Seattle’s First Greenroad

SDOT is proud to participate in the Greenroads program and showcase our commitment to the environment through design and construction of our transportation projects. Road construction is usually not perceived to go hand in hand with environmental stewardship, but the Greenroads Foundation, based in Redmond Washington, is working to change that by recognizing sustainable roadway projects and promoting sustainability education for transportation infrastructure.

The Greenroads rating system measures sustainability in roadway design and construction and is analogous to the LEED standards for sustainable buildings set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council. A project must first meet basic requirements and is then rated across a number of measures in six categories to provide a holistic indicator of the project’s sustainability practices and outcomes:

  1. Environment & Water
  2. Access & Equity
  3. Construction Activities
  4. Materials & Resources
  5. Pavement Technologies
  6. Custom Credits

 

The East Phase of the Mercer Corridor Project was identified as a pilot project for Greenroads and is completing the certification application.  SDOT expects to score well, based on the project’s innovative design, sustainable construction methods, and commitment to environmental stewardship. The following are a few examples of the project’s sustainable solutions and commitment to environmental sustainability:

  • Use of recycled materials as part of new pavement construction
  • Over 260 new tree and over 10,000 new shrub plantings
  • Rain gardens planted along the east side of Westlake Ave. N.
  • 0.5 acre reduction of impervious surface in the corridor
  • Pedestrian and bicycle friendly design
Mercer Corridor environmentally sustainable design concept

Mercer Corridor environmentally sustainable design concept

The West Phase of the Mercer Corridor Project and the 23rd Avenue Corridor Project are also registered for certification.

For more information about the Greenroads cerfitication program visit https://www.greenroads.org/.

To receive construction updates on Mercer West construction join our project email list at: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/mercercorridor.htm or call the 24-hour construction hotline at 206-419-5818.