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SATURDAY, JAN. 5: Temporary Bus Lane Construction on 4th Ave S for the #SeattleSqueeze.

PLEASE NOTE: Starting January 14, 2019, we will retire the On the Move blog channel and all traffic advisory blogs will be posted on the SDOT blog channel. 

Bus Only Lane

Temporary bus lane construction will occur on Saturday, January 5.

To manage the increased volume of traffic on our city’s streets and changing traffic patterns in advance of the SR closure beginning Friday, January 11, we’re re-channelizing key streets downtown starting Saturday, January 5. Streets include the Spokane Street Viaduct, the eastbound off-ramp to 4th Ave S and a short section of 4th Ave S approaching Spokane St.

These dedicated bus-only lanes will allow buses coming in from West Seattle to access the SODO busway and improve bus travel time throughout the SR 99 closure. 

The graphics included with our Street Changes for SR 99 Closure Begin Jan 5 flyer show what’s changing. 

Seattle Squeeze Alert

Here’s what you can expect: 

On the Spokane Street Viaduct in the eastbound direction, the right lane will be converted to a bus-only lane from 1st Ave S and will continue to the 4th Ave S exit to the signalized intersection at 4th Ave S.  On 4th Ave S, we are adding a short bus-only lane heading northbound approaching Spokane St. These changes will be in place by 11 PM on Saturday, January 5.

To accommodate this change, we have modified the island separating the north and southbound lanes on 4th Ave at Spokane St and a third northbound lane was added in December.  

 

Rain is expected to occur after Saturday, January 5 so these lanes will be installed prior to these weather impacts. Completing this work one week early ensures that we avoid delays associated with the weather for this installation in order to allow buses to begin using the lane on January 11. So, while we are installing these lanes on Saturday, January 5, there won’t be any buses using this lane until after 8 PM on January 11.

Please note that these are temporary bus lanes and will be restored to general travel lanes open to all vehicles in mid-February when the northbound off-ramp to Dearborn St is opened and King County Metro resumes northbound service on the SR 99 corridor.

 

More info?

Notice of future impacts related to the closure of SR 99 and other projects impacting traffic during the Seattle Squeeze are posted to our blog at www.seattle.gov/traffic. Head to this website for the latest updates and announcements.