LEVY DOLLARS AT WORK | We have completed our construction on Delridge Way SW! Enjoy smoother streets, safer intersections, new lanes for buses and bikes, artwork, and more.

Photo of a new landscaped street median along Delridge Way SW. Photo: SDOT

Summary:

Back in 2020, we started construction on Delridge Way SW, a street in West Seattle that stretches from the West Seattle Bridge to White Center.
This project is made possible by your investment in the Levy to Move Seattle, as well as a Washington State Regional Mobility Grant, and our partnership with King County Metro (Metro).
Thank you to our Delridge, Highland Park, and West Seattle neighbors and businesses in the area who have been patient during construction, generous with their ideas and contributions to the design of the project, and so much more.
As you travel along Delridge Way SW, you will see new bus lanes to support the future Metro RapidRide H Line between South Lake Union and Burien, freshly paved streets, medians with landscaping, a new bike lane, safer crosswalks to get to transit and local businesses, public art, and other new features.
This spring and summer, we’ll finish planting trees and shrubs, and build even more accessible curb ramps.
Metro will continue its work to prepare for RapidRide H line bus service, which is scheduled to begin in March 2023, including construction south of Seattle city limits in White Center and Burien.

First, we would like to say a big “thank you!” to our Delridge-area neighbors.

Two people board the bus at a new RapidRide-style bus stop along Delridge Way SW. Photo: SDOT

We know the past two years of active construction have been challenging in and around West Seattle for many reasons, including the ongoing closure of the West Seattle Bridge. We would like to thank you for your continued patience while we have made Delridge Way SW a safer, more accessible street.

Back in 2020, we started construction on Delridge Way SW, a street in West Seattle that stretches from the West Seattle Bridge to White Center. We made the hard decision to complete this work during the closure of the West Seattle Bridge, knowing there is no perfect time to start a project. Completing this work during the bridge closure allowed us to build greater capacity and mobility in the area, and offered employment opportunities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, when the bridge reopens and as the RapidRide comes online, West Seattle can move forward stronger than ever before with a street built to last for decades into the future.

The project has already, and will continue to, improve the way people travel – including walking, rolling, biking, taking transit, or driving. The project has also helped prepare for the upcoming addition of RapidRide H Line bus service, in coordination with Metro.

A bicyclist turns right onto Delridge Way SW. The biker is wearing a red jacket and light blue helmet. They have a small basket on the back on their bicycle. Several trees and a large building are visible in the background. — Upgraded neighborhood greenways (shown above) and newly installed protected bike lanes along Delridge Way SW provide bicyclists with safer, more direct routes. Photo: SDOT

Thanks to everyone who shared feedback throughout the project for the past 7+ years! You helped us determine the location of safety improvement projects, explore route options, finalize the RapidRide H Line route and bus stops in coordination with Metro, and more.

Our communications and community engagement process involved a wide range of strategies to reach community members at each project milestone. This communication included nearly 10 public open houses, in-person site walks, dozens of community briefings, tabling events, advertising, mailers, door-to-door flyers and conversations, phone calls to businesses and social services providers, surveys, 100+ project emails, web updates, media relations, social media, and more.

During the extensive, multicultural public engagement process, we heard these priorities from community, which we incorporated into the final design:

Fix potholes and old pavement
Make bus service faster, more frequent, and more reliable
Maintain bus access as an important neighborhood connector
Reduce speeding and create a safer neighborhood feel
Create safer and more accessible biking and walking options, especially at transit stops, schools, and local businesses

Your Levy to Move Seattle tax dollars have significantly improved Delridge Way SW.

With major construction complete, you can experience the repaved street, improved transit travel times, upgraded bus stops, and better connections along Delridge Way SW, and when traveling onward to downtown Seattle.

As you travel along Delridge Way SW, you will see:

New bus lanes, which will support the future RapidRide H Line. These bus lanes provide dedicated lane space for buses to pass other traffic, particularly during peak commuting hours. All in all, we’re helping to improve transit service to support employment growth, as well as travel time and reliability.
Traffic signal upgrades, including a bus priority signal, to allow buses to move to the front of traffic at red lights.
New traffic signals to improve safety for people walking, rolling, and biking.
New curbs and curb ramps along Delridge Way SW to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, creating a more accessible corridor.
Repaved streets to ensure a smooth, reliable trip for buses and people driving.
Medians with landscaping and vegetation, including a new irrigation system to help reduce maintenance and keep plants in good health. In total, we planted more than 150 trees along the corridor.
Crosswalk improvements, a new protected bike lane, and upgraded Neighborhood Greenway connections for people walking, biking, and rolling. Ultimately, these enhancements also help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and create more comfortable connections to transit.
Seattle Public Utilities water and sewer system upgrades.
Seattle City Light lighting and electric distribution system upgrades.

The project also included installing new public art, called Delridge Know How. This artwork is a series of bronze stylized nuts and wrenches that sit at three intersections along Delridge Way SW.

The “Delridge Know How” art installation is a series of bronze stylized nuts and wrenches that sit prominently alongside Delridge Way SW for everyone to enjoy. — The “*Delridge Know How*” art installation is a series of bronze stylized nuts and wrenches that sit prominently alongside Delridge Way SW for everyone to enjoy. The art was created by the Wowhaus artist team of Ene Osteraas-Constable and Scott Constable. Photo credit: Wowhaus.

April Jingco provides additional details in the Seattle Art Beat Blog:

“Delridge Know How recognizes that the foundation of any industry is human know-how and hard work. For generations, waves of immigrants from around the world have come to Delridge to find work and to make a home. Home to a wide range of industries in the past, including shipbuilding, brick making, flour milling, canning and fishing, and the steel mill that persists nearby to this day; Delridge has a rich history of blue-collar industry. A tight-knit, diverse, and hard-working community developed in Delridge, and the neighborhood is proud to continue its tradition of welcoming diverse immigrants to this day.”
– April Jingco, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

This spring and summer, we’ll make several smaller, remaining improvements to ensure the changes we’ve already completed are working well.

These remaining improvements include:

Installing landscaping and restoring planting strips.
Ensuring the new street layout and pavement works well for accessing utilities, traffic signal controls, and sprinklers.
Inspecting curbs and curb ramps to confirm they meet ADA accessibility standards and work well for people walking, biking, and rolling.
Restoring temporary pavement with concrete where needed.
Monitoring street operations to ensure people and goods are moving safely throughout the corridor.
Continuing conversations with residents, community groups, and businesses who have questions or additional feedback about the project and how the new street layout is working. We aim to be available to meet in-person (if desired) with anyone who wants to talk.

A man wearing an orange sweatshirt works using a shovel in the center median of Delridge Way SW. Cars and buildings, as well as travel lanes, are visible in the background. — When installation of the new landscaping is complete, we’ll have planted nearly 150 trees along the Delridge Way SW corridor. Photo: SDOT

Metro continues to install new bus stations and complete work south of Seattle for upcoming RapidRide H Line service.

King County Metro installs a new RapidRide bus station. In the photo, several people work to install the new bus station, as traffic moves through the area in a temporary configuration, including a bus and a delivery van. Trees are visible in the background. — King County Metro installs a new RapidRide bus station. Photo credit: King County Metro.

In January, Metro began installing new bus stations along Delridge Way SW. The RapidRide H Line bus stations have more features than RapidRide stations built previously in other areas of the region, with all stations having real-time electronic bus arrival information, all-door boarding, seating, and other features. There will be 52 new RapidRide stations: 26 in each direction between 3rd Ave in downtown Seattle and the Burien Transit Center.

Metro is also continuing work in White Center and Burien to upgrade those streets for RapidRide H Line service, which is now planned to begin in March 2023. To stay informed, sign up for their email updates. If you have any questions about Metro’s construction schedule, please contact rapidride@kingcounty.gov.

Thank you again for your partnership on this project!

This project was funded in part by the Levy to Move Seattle. Graphic: SDOT

The project was funded by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015, as well as a Washington State Regional Mobility Grant. Additional local and grant funding was secured by both Seattle and King County. Delridge Way SW is one of seven corridors identified in the Levy to receive transit improvements.

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