Olympia to present sidewalk infrastructure assessment at Land Use and Environment Committee meeting 

Olympia will present an overview of the city's sidewalk infrastructure condition and priority repairs at a Land Use and Environment Committee meeting on Thursday, April 24.  

The city commissioned Cross Reiter, Inc. to conduct a comprehensive assessment of all sidewalk panels within Olympia's right-of-way. During the inspection, the engineering firm documented approximately 27,820 instances of sidewalk damage.

Among the most common issues were: 

• Panel uplift: primarily caused by root uplift, differential settlement or construction defect.  

• Cracking and/or spalling: damage to sidewalk panels, including weathering, pitting, and chipping, typically resulting from vehicular loading, construction defects or aging.  

• Non-flush utility vaults: damage due to construction defects. 

• Width restrictions: obstructions that reduce effective sidewalk width, including utility poles and vegetation.  

• Missing panels: areas where sidewalk panels or portions of panels are completely absent.  

• Damaged detectable warning surfaces: deteriorated truncated dome installations at pedestrian ramps. 

The report identifies more than 5,700 locations as a high priority for repairs, including 1,458 spots with severe damage likely requiring full panel replacement.  

Sidewalks in downtown Olympia, South Capitol and parts of east side, southwest, and northwest Olympia were flagged as having the highest concentrations of damage.  

Several residential neighborhoods, including Wellington West, Governor Stevens and Whisper Ridge also had severe issues.  

Every block-length sidewalk segment received a sidewalk condition index (SCI) score ranging from 0 to 100. While more than 70% of segments received scores above 80, the assessment identified 175 segments with the lowest scores. These are located in downtown Olympia, the South Capitol neighborhood and various residential subdivisions across the city.  

Cross Reiter estimates the total replacement value of Olympia's sidewalk network to be $900 million, factoring in design, demolition, curb and ramp reconstruction, and other related work. 

The assessment aimed to document the extent and types of sidewalk damage within city limits to inform future policy decisions related to sidewalks.