Paving work on the south side of Marion Street between 1^st Ave and 5^th Ave has been completed and SDOT is ready to begin work on the north side of the street next.  We will reduce the length of time residents, businesses, vehicular and pedestrian traffic are disrupted on the north side of Marion Street, by increasing the resources on the project from September 14 through September 28. This means limited work will occur between September 1 and September 14. Originally, this portion of the paving base repair, utility adjustments, grinding, and overlay work was going to be continuous from August 27 through September 28.  We are now condensing that work to happen within a two week period from September 14 through September 28.

Between now and then, all lanes will be opened fully to traffic with the exception of minor interruptions. We know that once the contractor removes the top surface of the pavement, the ride can be a bit bumpier and noisier — this new schedule reduces the amount of time vehicles have to drive on the street after the upper layer of asphalt has been ground off.

When SDOT reconstructs and paves a roadway, why don’t they always replace all of the concrete panels?  Which ones are the lucky winners and why? 

Concrete Panels on 2nd and Yesler

Basically, we replace the panels that are damaged and keep those with remaining functional life.  This may appear odd because some of the panels kept have cracks.  Not to worry.  All concrete eventually cracks but it’s how the cracking is controlled that matters.  As engineers nationwide have become more sophisticated in their understanding of concrete paving, we have learned that smaller panels age better than larger panels.  For large pieces of concrete, the concrete literally wants to be in smaller pieces and will establish its own joints, often at regularly spaced intervals.  Knowing this, engineers now plan for this.  As long as the crack doesn’t propagate or cause one side of the panel to shift or settle in relation to another, the concrete panel has valuable functional life left.

GreenDOT is SDOT’s continuing effort to improve our practices to protect the environment and create a sustainable transportation system that makes it easier to walk, bike and take transit.  We have a goal to get international ISO 14001 EMS Certification by 2012 for what we are putting in place to responsibly manage our day to day work.  For example, when we are paving, we try to minimize run off from construction, minimize idling from our trucks, recycle the materials we take out of the street, and use recycled content in the asphalt we put back in.  

 We’ve also just started ”Fuel Duel” (a friendly competition) with the Parks Department where we are competing to see which department can reduce its fuel use by the greatest percentage!

Check out our new logo:

SDOT's new GreenDOT Logo

King Street Station with new terra-cotta tiled roof

Preserving and improving our transportation network and facilities is important to SDOT. King Street Station is one of Seattle’s oldest and most treasured transportation facilities and has been under restoration since 2008. The restoration project aims to maintain the station, and enhance it, as a gateway for the millions of travelers who visit Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. It also will re-establish many of the unique characteristics that make the station such an icon for our city. You can follow the progress of the project here. Stay tuned for updates on King Street Station milestones.

Speed hump installed on Mary Ave NW

Making the streets safe for everyone is a priority, especially near our community centers and schools. SDOT works to calm traffic on streets where speeding has become a problem and the community has voiced its concern. This was the case on both Mary Avenue NW and 14^th Avenue NW between NW 92^nd and NW 95^th Streets, until new speed humps were installed on both streets.

Mary Avenue NW and 14^th Avenue NW are in a portion of the Crown Hill neighborhood that is adjacent to Holman Road NW, which is a main arterial. As traffic backs up, drivers have been known to cut through the neighborhood to avoid waiting through the traffic signals. Now, drivers that choose to cut through the neighborhood to reach NW 100^th Street will have to slow down as they pass the nearby child development center. By installing these four speed humps, drivers can’t avoid slowing down and being reminded of the posted speed limit.

Speed hump installed on Mary Ave NW in the Crown Hill neighborhood

This project was funded through the Neighborhood Street Fund which funds neighborhood –requested transportation improvements. For more information on NSF projects, click here.

We received a question from one of our readers inquiring about tax incentives for local businesses that encourage their employees to use mass transit and forms of transportation other than single occupant vehicles. Since there were several resources to share, we want to make it available to other readers here on the blog.

Various levels of government encourage the use of transit and other ways to travel, through tools like tax breaks, incentive programs and technical support. Here are some examples:

City of Seattle $25 head tax waiver

The City assesses each employer $25 per year for each employee who works at the employer’s Seattle work site. The employer does not have to pay the $25 for each employee who does not drive alone to work. 

Federal tax break on transit use

Federal law lets workers receive up to $230 a month in employer-paid tax-free transit or vanpool benefits, or take up to $230 a month in tax-sheltered payroll deductions for transit costs. For many years employee parking received a higher tax break, but now transit or vanpool benefits for employees receive the same tax break as employee parking. Please see this brochure for more information.

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SDOT’s Safe Routes to School program has completed three projects that will significantly improve walking routes to schools. 

One block from Concord Elementary School in the South Park neighborhood, SDOT completed a crossing improvement that connects Concord Elementary School with the new Cesar Chavez Park and the heart of the residential neighborhood.  The project reduces the pedestrian crossing distance from almost 100 feet to just 32 feet.  The project also installed a new all-way stop, 3 new marked crosswalks, 8 new curb ramps, and improved drainage inlets.

Before:

Crossing by Concord Elementary School Before Improvements

After:

Crossing by Concord Elementary School After Improvements

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Paving work along Marion Street is going well, with the south side concrete curb lane between First and Third avenues now complete.  Crews are working steadily up the hill, placing funny green wire things before the concrete is poured.  The green “load transfer baskets,” like you see in this photo looking down from the top of Fourth Avenue, shift weight from one concrete panel to the next as traffic drives over top.  While the baskets help evenly distribute the extra weight of buses, the concrete helps to withstand the pressure over time.  The only other area with concrete will be the middle lane between Fourth and Fifth avenues, where the trolley travels.

The wire “baskets” are green from an epoxy coating that makes them resistant to rust.             

35th Ave S before improvements

Thanks to the Bridging the Gap levy pedestrians are finding it easier to get around Seattle.  More than 10 blocks of new sidewalk have been constructed this year, most of the work is happening in SE Seattle.  The new sidewalks are helping connect schools, businesses, community centers, transit and light rail.  SDOT expects to build 25 blocks total in 2009.

The sidewalk project located at 35th Avenue South has been completed.  The project includes 1.5 blocks of new sidewalk and is located a block off of Martin Luther King Way in southeast Seattle.  This new sidewalk connects existing walkways to the north with the new sidewalk along the Sound Transit corridor and also makes accessibility improvements to connecting walkways.

35th Ave S after improvements