Rainier Beach Street Median Sod Removal

A City Street Median Stripped for Native Planting, Inside the Permit Window

Kolmo Construction, a Seattle-area general contractor, stripped the sod from a planted street median in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle for Seattle Parks Foundation's Waters Median Project in October 2026, preparing the ground for a community native-habitat planting. The crew removed the turf and the top few inches of soil across two median sections, about 11,600 square feet, working around the young street trees already planted along the median. A skid steer loaded the material straight into a dump trailer parked on the median, and the loads were hauled off site for disposal. Because the median is public right-of-way, the work ran under a Seattle Department of Transportation street-use permit and its conditions: no start before 9 a.m. and no cut deeper than four inches. A flagger and cones kept the adjacent lane open to traffic while the loader worked along the curb. The work finished inside the permit window and left bare soil ready for native seeding.

Scope highlights

• •Site preparation for Seattle Parks Foundation's Waters Median Project
• •About 11,600 square feet of sod and topsoil removed from two median sections
• •Skid steer loading straight into a dump trailer parked on the median; loads hauled off site for disposal
• •A flagger and cones kept the adjacent lane open to traffic during the work
• •Worked to the street-use permit conditions: no start before 9 a.m., no cut deeper than four inches
• •Young street trees along the median left standing
• •Bare soil left ready for native seeding

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