Tag Archives: construction

Rizal Bridge lane to be closed for maintenance

Photo of the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge by Seattle Daily Photo in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Seattle Department of Transportation crews will close the northbound, right lane of the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge from July 11 to July 29, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The closure will allow crews to perform maintenance work underneath the bridge deck. Be aware that there may be some congestion in the area.

Chief Sealth Trail extension nearly done

The Chief Sealth Trail extension during construction, looking oddly like a country road. Photo by kashgroves in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The Chief Sealth Trail northward extension project is nearly completed. The Seattle Department of Transportation told us recently that the asphalt surface paving is done, and only the final stages of construction remain, including minor paving work, storm drainage, signage and bollard installation, hydroseeding, and cleanup.

There will continue to be intermittent traffic restrictions through mid-November on South Angeline Street (east of 15th Avenue South), South Ferdinand Street (between 17th Avenue South and 19th Avenue South), Columbia Drive South (between South Ferdinand Street and South Pearl Street) and Beacon Avenue South (curb lane only between South Bennett and South Ferdinand streets). See the map at the end of this post for these locations.

The trail is being extended northwesterly, following the City Light corridor from the intersection of Beacon Avenue South and South Dawson Street to a point near the intersection of South Angeline Street and 15th Avenue South.

Seattle Bike Blog has noted how useful the trail is for providing connections for cyclists to ride from Rainier Beach to Sodo and Capitol Hill.


View Traffic restriction locations, 11/10 in a larger map

Jefferson Park opening delayed by a month

It will all be worthwhile when the fences come down. Photo of Jefferson Park last year by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Andy Sheffer from Seattle Parks and Recreation sent out a letter yesterday with some disappointing news:

Dear Jefferson Park Community,

We are all excited about the opening of Jefferson Park and the construction crews are on the home stretch. We were hopeful that we would be able to open the park early because the general contractor was ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, we need to change the proposed park opening date from Saturday, September 18, 2010 to October 23, 2010 (or thereabouts) for the following reasons:

  • Despite commitments, the landscape installation is not progressing at the rate needed for completion by September.
  • If we hurry the contractor to complete the final work I know that a lot of important “finessing” will be omitted. Our commitment is to ensuring that the final product is as optimal as possible.
  • Several areas on site contain unsuitable soils for paving. These areas have to be over-excavated and filled with suitable material. We waited until now in the hope that the areas would dry out but that has proven not to be the case.

I was made optimistic by the progress of general contractor at the onset of the project. Unfortunately, the detailed finish work has been painstakingly slow. The contractor was given a specific number of days to finish the project and it’s their prerogative to utilize as many contract days as necessary to finish.

While I understand that this is disappointing news, I hope that you will understand a delay of one month will pay great dividends in terms of delivering a park project that is as nearly perfect as we are able to achieve. And, the news is not all bad. We anticipate that the play area will open by the end of August. (Emphasis ours — BHB.) I look forward to celebrating the grand opening of this wonderful park with you in October.

Please feel free to contact me anytime to further discuss the project.

Respectfully,

Andy Sheffer

If you have questions, you can reach Andy Sheffer at andy.sheffer@seattle.gov.

Construction, Seafair to cause traffic delays

Look up next week and you might see these guys flying right over your head. Photo by Wendi.
It’s construction season, which means there are a lot of projects that will cause delays and reroutes to travelers on Beacon Hill and in nearby areas. There are so many projects that rather than list them all, we’ll send you to the lists on the Seattle Department of Transportation website: Sodo projects, South Seattle projects.

You might particularly want to note a few special events. The Seafair Torchlight Run will cause the northbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct to be closed tonight from 5:45pm to 7:45pm, and the Torchlight Parade will close Fourth Avenue all the way from Broad Street near Seattle Center, south to Qwest Field. Next week, the Blue Angels will return to buzz Beacon Hill on August 5-8, in the process closing I-90 to traffic from 9:45am to noon and 1:15 to 2:30pm on August 5, and from 12:45 to 2:40pm on August 6-8.

Among other construction projects in the area, this week a crew worked on the new pedestrian-activated flashing light crosswalk that is being installed next to the library at Beacon and Forest. Photo by Jason.

Sound Transit still working to fill voids

Starting Monday, July 19, Sound Transit will return to Beacon Hill to continue underground exploration and backfilling work near Beacon Hill Station related to the voids discovered last year. Expect restricted parking, flaggers directing traffic, heavy equipment, and some noise. Construction is anticipated to take at least two months.

Among other impacts, the remediation work will reduce 17th Avenue South from South McClellan to South Waite to one travel lane, and drivers will be assisted by flaggers to safely get around the drilling equipment. Further information on the project activities can be found on this PDF.

These activities will be the first phase in the current work plan of exploratory operations to find and fill the remaining voids. The subsequent phases of the work plan focus solely on private property. If you have not been previously contacted by Sound Transit, no work will be on your property.

If you have any questions about the project or the Beacon Hill Station in general, please contact Jennifer Lemus, Sound Transit Community Outreach, at 206-398-5314.

This map shows the section of 17th Avenue South that will be affected by the lane closure, sidewalk closure, and parking restrictions:


View Sound Transit Void Remediation Work, Summer 2010 in a larger map

Changes coming to 15th Ave S this month

Later this month, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will begin work on the repaving and rechannelization of 15th Avenue South between South College Street and South Spokane Street. (We posted about this project when it was getting started last year.)

The project to improve 15th will include include traffic lane reconfiguration along with pedestrian and bicycle improvements, including:

  • Resurfacing the asphalt pavement on 15th between Beacon Avenue South and South McClellan Street.
  • Installing new curb bulbs and ramps at 15th and South Lander Street.
  • Adding sidewalk improvements at Beacon and McClellan.
  • Adding two new marked crosswalks at 15th and Lander.
  • Installing pedestrian warning signs at 15th and McClellan.
  • Retrofitting existing ADA ramps with tactile (detectable) warning pads.
  • Adding new bike facilities between College and Spokane.

SDOT will be removing parking from one side of the street in each block, using alternate-side-of-the-street parking as a traffic calming technique. Additionally, there will be a much-needed right-turn-only lane at the intersection of 15th Avenue South and South Spokane Street, when going southbound. You can read more about the rechannelization here.

Work on the project is scheduled to begin in mid-July and continue through September. You should expect lane closures, pedestrian detours, parking and loading restrictions, and the usual construction noise and mess. More information about specifics will be coming soon.


View 15th Ave S rechannelization project in a larger map

Beacon Bits: Honoring, building, and shredding

Signs in the window of Sharon's Lutong Bahay, a Filipino restaurant just south of Beacon and Stevens, say that the restaurant's Grand Opening is this Friday, June 25. Photo by Wendi.
Jerry Large of the Seattle Times (BHB news partners) featured Jeane Cook and Kim Nakamura in his column yesterday. Cook and Nakamura, who are both in their 90s, were honored by Beacon Hill International School (formerly Beacon Hill Elementary) for nearly 30 years of volunteer work at the school. Large also mentions that the BHIS Golden Acorn award for volunteers this year went to Pat Dederer, who has been helping at BHIS for 20 years. We here at the BHB would also like to express our gratitude to Cook, Nakamura, and Dederer for their service and contributions to the lives of Beacon Hill kids over the decades.

* * *

You may have noticed some work near Jose Rizal Bridge this week. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is installing curb ramps in the intersection of 12th Avenue South and South Charles Street at the north end of the bridge. Crews plan to work until Thursday, from 7 am to 2:30 pm each day. They will close the western and then the eastern sidewalk and parking strip, one at a time, to complete the work.

* * *

Speaking of construction work, work on the Chief Sealth Trail Extension project will probably start in late August. The project will take about three months. Afterward, the trail will extend northwestward from Beacon Avenue South northwest to South Angeline/15th Avenue South.

SDOT has completed its environmental review of the project per the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and determined that there will be no significant adverse environmental impacts as a result of the project. To see the DNS and other environmental documents as well as a map of the project, see the project web site.

* * *


Verity Credit Union
is hosting a community shred-a-thon on Saturday from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. At this event, community members who don’t have their own shredders can have the security of shredding their sensitive documents. There is a suggested minimum donation of $10 which will be donated directly to the Beacon Hill Food Bank. Verity is located at 1660 South Columbian Way, Building 35.

* * *

Helping Link, or Má»™t Dấu Nối, is a non-profit group that provides tutoring, citizenship and English classes, and social services to the local Vietnamese community. They are having their annual fundraiser, the Seattle International Fashion Gala, this Saturday, June 26, at O’Asian Kitchen Restaurant. There will be an array of modern and traditional gowns premiered by fashion designers, Oscar Milano Mai and Chi Duyen, along with Asian cuisine.
Proceeds of ticket purchases will go towards the support of Helping Link’s community strengthening programs for Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. More information can be found on the website.

* * *

The Bar del Corso pizzeria folks are holding a fundraiser on Sunday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm to help raise funds for the restaurant they plan to open on North Beacon Hill early next year. They say, “Jerry will be firing up the brick oven in our backyard garden, and making pizzas. With fava beans and garlic in season, we will be making some special pizzas with these ingredients, along with other classics.” The suggested donation is $100, but “the donation amount is suggested—pay what you can.” RSVP is required to info@bardelcorso.com (with RSVP in the subject line). They will send you a confirmation email with the details and the address of the party.

* * *

Beacon Lutheran Church will be holding a Bible and Chinese Camp for children from ages 4 through 12 this summer, August 16-20. The program will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and will provide Bible lessons, singing, crafts, and games, as well as Chinese language and culture lessons. Snacks will be provided morning and afternoon, but each child should bring a sack lunch. For more information or to register, call Father Philip Wong, 253-277-1831 (in Chinese or English), or Eunice Graham, 206-323-0226 (English only).

25th Avenue S to be closed on Tuesday for paving

On Tuesday, May 25, Sound Transit’s contractor, Obayashi Corporation, will close 25th Avenue South between South McClellan Street and South Hanford Street for final paving work. The closure is temporary and will be in place between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm. No detour is necessary; local access will be granted at all times, and signage and flaggers will be on-site to help drivers through the work zone.

If you have any construction-related concerns, please call the construction hotline at 1-888-298-2395.


The work zone is marked in red. See a larger map.

Columbian Way paving project to begin Wednesday

The Columbian Way paving and improvement project that we wrote about last November will begin next Wednesday, May 19. The construction will begin with sidewalk replacement on the north side of Columbian Way between Beacon Avenue South and the VA Hospital.

The project will alter Columbian Way between Beacon and 15th Avenue South to have one travel lane in each direction with a new center left turn lane, along with new sidewalks, street trees, bike lanes, and other improvements.

There will be parking and lane restrictions in the area during the project, though one traffic lane in each direction will remain open at all times. The project is expected to be completed in September. For further information, see the project website.

No direct light rail trains downtown this weekend

The removal of construction scaffolding from some offramp overpass projects in Sodo will prevent Link Light Rail from running north of Sodo station at Lander Street this weekend. From our news partner, the Seattle Times:

Link light-rail service will not run through the downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and parts of the Sodo area this weekend as state Department of Transportation contractors remove scaffolding supporting a new offramp over the tracks and station just south of downtown.

Free bus shuttles will carry Link passengers from the Sodo light-rail station at South Lander Street via Sixth Avenue South to the tunnel stations. King County Metro and Sound Transit bus routes that normally use the Sodo busway will also be detoured during the work.

Read more in the Times.