Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia City Council awarded a $774,788 construction contract to House Brothers Construction to repair damaged sidewalks and improve accessibility at three downtown locations.
The city council also authorized City Manager Jay Burney to execute the contract, clearing the way for the 2026 Sidewalk Repair Project to proceed. The city council made the decision at a meeting on Aug. 25.
The project has an estimated total cost of $1.1 million. The budget includes $774,788 for construction, $77,479 in contingency funds, and $247,733 for engineering, design, inspection and consulting.
The project will address damaged sidewalks, trip hazards and accessibility barriers at three locations:
The project also includes tree planting along Columbia Street NW between State Avenue and 4th Avenue.
The city selected the sidewalk locations using its sidewalk condition assessment and inventory. The sites are heavily used and have poor condition ratings, with multiple areas of damage along full block segments.
The project is part of an ongoing effort to address ailing sidewalks after calls from residents for the city to conduct sidewalk repairs.
At the council meeting, Public Works Department Director Mark Russell said the city is pursuing sidewalk repairs through two approaches: outside construction contracts for larger, more complex projects and a newly established internal sidewalk repair crew for smaller jobs.
Russell said the contracted projects generally cover larger areas, often an entire city block, and can involve additional work, such as street tree replacement, stormwater improvements, American with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps, private utility conflicts and street signs.
Meanwhile, the city’s internal sidewalk repair crew is focusing on more individual sidewalk panel replacements and other repairs that are less complex.
Russell said maintaining both approaches is the city’s current plan, depending on available funding and future direction from the council.
He said the city is proposing another contracted sidewalk repair project of about $500,000 in next year’s capital facilities plan.
The 2026 project is expected to improve pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility by removing areas of sidewalks known to be hazardous or difficult to use. The improvements also support the city’s goal of encouraging walking and biking.
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Honestyandrealityguy
Common sense tells me that the tree needs to be removed. The roots will continue to tear up any sidewalk. Common sense please.
Wednesday, September 2 Report this
VDRAKE2
Wouldn't it be lovely if the council would approve $800,000 to build sidewalks necessary along four&a half miles in the Northwest section of town. Aresidential area in the where children load on busses, folks jog and walk their dogs AND THERE ARE ZERO, NONE, GOOSEEGG no sidewalks at ALL. Yet we pay taxes the same as the people downtown same utilities ercetcetc and we got nothing. For thirty years, we have brought it to the councils attention especially now developers are eyeballing every spare a re to build tiny houses, huge condos, etc. so damn the tree and who cares.
Wednesday, September 2 Report this
KatAshe
I wonder how much money could have been saved if the sidewalks had been maintained annually. And, Honestyandrealityguy is correct. The tree needs removing.
Wednesday, September 2 Report this
2theroots
I wish this article stated clearly what is going to happen to the trees. There are a number of ways to repair sidewalks and not remove trees. these are older mature trees which mean they do 10's of times more eco services than a "replacement" sapling ever could. It is also very expensive to remove trees, plant and maintain through the danger period baby trees. It is less expensive and thus provides more sidewalk repair money to do the repairs that do not remove the tree but do remove the trip hazard.
Thursday, September 3 Report this
Mugwump
YAY! Fix the sidewalks! And then try not to be as shortsighted as the people who planted trees next to sidewalks without mitigating the roots. There's this thing called time. Figure it out.
Thursday, September 3 Report this
CobraCommander
Honestyandrealityguy, you don't even visit downtown.
Thursday, September 3 Report this
Boatyarddog
I have a solution! Let's get rid of the sidewalk on "troubled" areas and let the tree grow there unimpeded, trim up bulging roots, and lay down bark or Gravel in those areas. The bulk of sidewalks are in good shape.
What really needs fixing is the DAMN roadways on 4th, State St. And does the RR tracks that the PORT never uses.
Friday, September 4 Report this
TheVirtualOne
Pulling out the damaged sidewalks, not replacing them, and allowing trees to continue to grow isn’t an option, even if you add bark mulch and trim roots back. There are lots of people who can’t travel on those kinds of surfaces - elderly, handicapped, wheelchair bound, etc. The “root” of the problem is the wrong kinds of trees were planted in the first place. There are specific species that lend themselves to existing in such places. That wasn’t properly considered when the trees was first planted. The city needs to get their act together with the developers and make them plant the right species to begin with in any new development or renovation. Removing existing troubled trees is the answer. New trees grow back quickly and after just a few years will grow back to adequate size and height without the accompanying sidewalk uplifting and damage.
Friday, September 4 Report this
TheVirtualOne
*when the trees were first planted*
Friday, September 4 Report this