Category Archives: Getting Around

Getting Around

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.

Getting Around

Eastbound I-90 and ramps to be closed tonight

Drivers traveling east from South Seattle on I-90 tonight should be prepared for delays and detours. From 11:00 am tonight until 5:00 am tomorrow morning, eastbound I-90 will be closed between I-5 and I-405, with traffic detoured to the I-90 express lanes. Ramps to eastbound I-90 from northbound I-5 and Rainier Avenue South will be closed, as well as ramps on Mercer Island and further east to I-405. There will be other eastbound closures on the East Side on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

The closures are for the installation of new electronic signs as part of the Smarter Highways project. The Smarter Highways traffic management system will feature a network of sensors and electronic signs to provide drivers with information. A WSDOT video here shows how it will work. These signs have already been installed on northbound I-5 in South Seattle and will be activated there later this summer.

Further information about the closures and delays may be found here.


View I-90 Closures, May 18, 2010 in a larger map

Getting Around

Columbian Way paving project to begin Wednesday

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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.

Getting Around, Local Events

Mayor to announce “Walk Bike Ride” plan at Festival Street on Tuesday

Mayor Mike McGinn will be on Beacon Hill this coming Tuesday, May 11, at 2:00 pm for the announcement of the “Walk Bike Ride” Initiative supporting improved pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities and services “to make walking, biking, and riding transit the easiest ways to get around in Seattle.”

The event is scheduled for the Lander Festival Street at 16th Avenue South and South Lander Street, immediately north of Beacon Hill Station.

The Seattle Times (BHB news partners) discussed the “Walk Bike Ride” initiative, as did PubliCola and the Seattle Transit Blog.

Getting Around

Major accident at 15th and Beacon

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Update: According to the SPD, this appears to have been a single-vehicle rollover accident, possibly with alcohol as a factor. It was called in at about 8:05pm Friday and both police and the fire department responded. The vehicle knocked down a red light post and a bus stop sign before colliding with the City Light pole on the corner of 15th and Beacon. Upon arriving, the vehicle was found upside-down with the driver inside. The driver was safely removed and taken to the hospital for examination and a blood draw. There were no passengers and apparently no other injuries or vehicles directly damaged. SPD’s Traffic Collision Investigation Squad’s investigation is still underway.

A car accident occurred around 8:30pm tonight near the intersection of 15th and Beacon Ave S. Beacon was closed off between Lander and 15th.

Photos from the aftermath and cleanup:


It appears a vehicle rolled over, knocking over a bus stop sign and a red lightpost.

BH in the News, Getting Around

Tunnel voids pit contractor against Sound Transit

The tunnel “voids” affecting properties above the Link Light Rail tunnel path through the hill continue to be identified and addressed. From an article in the Engineering News-Record:

Crews have filled in about 80% of nine voids leftover from a 2-mile tunneling job through Seattle’s Beacon Hill. Japan’s Obayashi Corp. did not discover the voids while boring the parallel, 1-mile tunnels as part of its $280-million contract, which has since increased to $312 million. Owner Sound Transit contends the contractor is at fault.

. . .

“We put Obayashi on notice that we think this is an avoidable situation, and the cost is going to be withheld from its final payment,” Gray says. Sound Transit has spent $1.6 million filling the voids.

“The adequacy of the geotechnical data supplied by Sound Transit and the actual behavior of the ground during construction are under discussion with Sound Transit,” says Obayashi spokeswoman Carmen Stone.

And they’re not quite done yet: Sound Transit estimates about 430 cubic yards remain left to find and fill. Read the rest of the article at ENR.

via DouglasReiser on Twitter

Getting Around

Sewer main blocked on South Waite Street

Neighbor Ben posted on the Beacon Hill Mailing List today:

If you regularly travel through the 1900 block of S Waite you’ll need to find an alternate route for the next few days. There is a sewer main blockage on South Waite Street around halfway between 19th and 20th. Seattle Public Utilities is on the scene working to order to restore service tonight and have closed the street to through traffic. In addition some parking on the street is currently blocked off and will remain so during working hours between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.

They expect to have a more permanent fix in place by Tuesday. The utilities crew will cover the excavation with a metal plate and open the road to traffic during off-hours and will pour a temporary asphalt patch once the fix is complete. They expect the road services crew to come in behind them within a month to delete the four concrete slabs affected by the work and pour some new ones.


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Getting Around, Health and Safety

Sound Transit continuing work to fill “voids” near Beacon Hill Station

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Many neighbors living east of Beacon Hill Station received a flyer (PDF) from Sound Transit this evening, describing the current status of the “voids” discovered when digging the Beacon Hill tunnel. Last year, nine sub-surface voids were found and filled with a controlled-density fill, and the ground at the bottom of the voids was injected with grout to stabilize it.

According to the alert sent out by Sound Transit today, there are still about 400 cubic yards that need filling, but the voids aren’t large or near the surface, and Sound Transit believes that there is no imminent danger to property nearby.

Sound Transit’s next steps are to work with local property owners and their neighbors to coordinate work to fill the voids. They expect the project will take about four to six months.

A Seattle Times (BHB partners) article contains further information on the project, including a very good description of how the voids are formed.

Getting Around

Dynamic signs coming to Columbian Way next week


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Expect construction delays at this location next week as new dynamic signs are installed.

The Seattle Department of Transportation will be installing new dynamic (electronic) messaging signs at several locations in the city next week, including South Columbian Way/14th Avenue South near the freeway ramps. The new electronic signs will provide improved traffic information to travelers.

The signs will be installed during the daytime next week, March 8 to 12. The work will start in Crown Hill and progress down the list to Columbian Way, which is last, so we can probably expect lane closures and construction slowdowns at Columbian and 14th from the middle to end of next week. Expect some delay and congestion during this time.

The other locations that will receive the new signs are in Crown Hill at 14th Avenue NW and Holman Road NW, 15th Avenue NW just south of Ballard High School, and on 15th Avenue West near the Magnolia Bridge.

We are not sure exactly what the signs will look like, but they may be similar to other dynamic messaging signs SDOT has previously installed in SODO. Here’s an interesting PDF from 2005 about the use of dynamic messaging signs by WSDOT on Washington highways.