There will be a wall, but it will not look like fake boulders.

That is the apparent decision of the Bonney Lake City Council, which has decided to go in a different direction for the retaining wall being designed for the southern side of state Route 410 at Old Buckley Highway.

The site, across the highway from the Dairy Queen, presently fills up with campaign signs and other informational notices, but will eventually be replaced with a 360-foot long and 17-foot high wall.

Originally, the council’s Community Development Committee recommended a wall like the one built behind the Lowe’s on South Prairie Road, featuring a look of boulders and a single panel of art introducing the city.

But during a September discussion, other council members, led by Laurie Carter, said they did not particularly like the look of that wall and did not think it would be right as a welcome to the city.

The new design will be a fractured fin wall, which features a rippled, corduroy like and rough exterior. The idea of the ripples and rougher finish is to help prevent graffiti on the wall.

According to Public Works Director Dan Grigsby, when completed, the wall will look like the new retaining wall built on state Route 410 just east of 214th Avenue.

The council is still leaning toward a single panel of art welcoming folks to the city. Carter suggested the panel look like the one at the Park and Ride, to create a sense of consistency around the city.

There is presently no funding for the project, which was part of the mitigation for the Cascadia development. With the recent bankruptcy proceedings, there are still questions about traffic mitigation and when parcels in the former Cascadia Project are sold and developed.

The city is going ahead with the design of the new wall in case a funding source materializes.