Yesterday came and went and the schedule road repaving on Fremont Ave didn’t happen. That’s because the entire operation has been moved back.

Just got the following update from SDOT that the work, which includes tree trimming and re-pavement of Fremont Avenue N, from N 38th to N 41st streets, will take place the week of August 22-26:

A private contractor will be trimming trees for SDOT on Fremont Ave N, from N 38th to N 41st streets, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, August 22. Northbound and southbound traffic will be shifted to use the southbound lane and a parking lane. Bicycles will merge with vehicular traffic through the construction zone and all sidewalks will remain open. To assist with traffic flow, a uniformed police officer (UPO) will be stationed at the intersection of N 39th St and Fremont Ave N.
Following the tree trimming, SDOT crews will be grinding and repaving the travel lanes of Fremont Ave N from N 38th to N 41st streets. This work will occur from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 23, through Friday, August 26. Northbound and southbound traffic will be shifted to use the parking lanes. Bicycles will merge with vehicular traffic and all sidewalks will remain open. There will be a UPO at the intersection of N 39th St & Fremont Ave N.

SDOT is also passing out flyers door-to-door letting folks know that no parking signs will be placed along Fremont Ave., so don’t forget to leave your car elsewhere during those days.

For more information, visit http://www.cityofseattle.net/transportation

Stay strong, N. 34th Street commuters. Your not-that-long, regional nightmare is almost over.

The final asphalt paving on N 34th street was completed this week, less than a month after the project began.  The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) began in early July to repave N 34th Street from Fremont Avenue N to Stone Way N.

Work remaining includes installation of new lane markings and a new green bike box, in addition to a significant amount of sidewalk work. The project is scheduled to reach substantial completion in approximately two weeks.

For more information about the project, visit the project web site at:  http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_n34th.htm.

Next week, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will be doing some nighttime paving on N 34th St from Fremont Ave N to Stone Way N.

On the evenings of Monday, July 11th and Tuesday, July 12th, the existing top layer of asphalt will be removed with a pavement grinding machine.

On the first night, work will be on the north half; on the second night, work will be on the south half. Crews will begin work at 6:00 p.m. each day and work until 6:00 a.m. the following morning. Expect only one lane of traffic in each direction during work hours as well as parking restrictions and periodic interruptions.

More detailed schedule information will be provided as construction proceeds. To follow the progress of this project, please visit the project web site at: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_n34th.htm

Update: Work will begin May 31st, so plan accordingly.

The Fremont Troll isn’t too keen of the Aurora Bridge falling apart over his head one of these days. So WSDOT contractors will be doing some work on the bridge over the next couple months to make sure that doesn’t happen.

As early as June 11, WSDOT workers will begin an 18-month long project to make the Aurora Bridge better withstand earthquakes. Once that work officially starts, construction crews will reduce or eliminate parking on Troll Avenue between 36^th and 34^th streets to get at the underside of the bridge.

Parking will be affected between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Residents will be able to park in the area after that time, though their cars will need to moved by 8 a.m. the following morning.

The work in the Fremont area will last about six months. At that point, the crews will move to the Queen Anne side of the bridge.

For more information on the project and the reason it’s being done, visit the WSDOT site.

As mentioned the other day, Thursday May 19th at 11am, Seattle City Light will install equipment that will allow us to begin pulling electrical cable into place. as part of the extension of underground power lines between Troll Ave N and Stone Way N on N 34th St.

One thing we didn’t mention is that power in that area will be interrupted for approximately four hours. The planned outage affecting your business/residence is required to safely reconnect the newly installed cables to the rest of the system.

To help you prepare for this outage, here are some things you should know:

• Customers relying on an electric life-support system should have back-up power and know how to operate it.
• Food should be safe in most cases if refrigerators and freezers remain shut while the power is out. When in doubt, please throw it out. Businesses should also leave doors closed in refrigerated areas it will help to maintain temperatures longer.
• Know which entrance and exit door to use in a secured building.

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Seattle City Light has an update for us on the construction that’s taking place on 34th Street.

Seattle City Light needs to install equipment onto two poles near the intersection of Stone Way and N. 34th Street. The equipment will allow us to pull electrical cable for the underground extension. The planned start date is this Friday, May 6th. Cable pulling should be completed by approximately May 20th.

Seattle Department of Transportation plans to return to this area in July to do a permanent paving.

The project area extends between N. 34th Street and N. 35th Street on Woodland Park Ave. N. and between Stone Way N. and Troll Ave. N. (under the Aurora Bridge) on N. 34th Street.

Heads up from the Seattle Department of Transportation as they continue work on Dexter Avenue.

They plan to lay new asphalt on Dexter Avenue North between Fremont Avenue North and McGraw Street on Monday, April 25th and Tuesday, April 26th, assuming the weather is favorable.

Traffic will be limited to one travel lane in each direction from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. On-street parking will be restricted. Drivers should expect additional traffic congestion and delays and are advised to consider using alternate routes. Uniformed police officers will be present to keep traffic moving at the intersection of Westlake Avenue N and Dexter Avenue N. Bicyclists will merge and share the lanes with vehicles on Dexter or they may use the sidewalks or alternate routes.

Think ahead on your morning and afternoon commute.

This phase of the work is scheduled to be completed by early May and the entire project will be completed in September.

For more detailed information, please visit the project web site.

SDOT let us know in February about the upcoming changes to Dexter Avenue intended to help ease congestion caused by car, bus and bicyclist overlaps as well as improve the pavement condition by repaving the street.

That work began Monday as SDOT’s contractor began grinding and removing the existing asphalt pavement on Dexter Avenue North between Fremont Avenue N and McGraw Street.

During the work, one travel lane in each direction will be open on Dexter. There will be parking and loading restrictions near the work zone as well as periodic cross-street and driveway interruptions.

Paving will commence in April. Drivers and bicyclists are urged to seek out alternative routes when possible. For more information on this project, visit the SDOT web site.

Seattle City Light has an update for us on the construction that’s taking place on 34th Street.

Removed failed street pavement sections just west of intersection of Stone Way and N. 34th Street. Concrete underlay to be placed on Monday. Anticipate some roller vibration on Friday and Monday. Sidewalk and curb restoration at Fremont Dock Building, expect some vibration. Mid-March is the projected last piece of work on the civil construction phase. Afterwards comes inspection and development of punch list. End of contract is April 1st. City Light will return at future point in time to do the electrical phase. It is much less impactful with a lone City Light vehicle pulling cable at manholes.

The project area extends between N. 34th Street and N. 35th Street on Woodland Park Ave. N. and between Stone Way N. and Troll Ave. N. (under the Aurora Bridge) on N. 34th Street. Advance notification will be given to those customers involved for any planned power outages. As usual, plan your commute wisely, especially during peak hours.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is planning changes along Dexter Avenue N between Roy Street and Fremont Avenue N in 2011. This project is funded by the “Bridging the Gap” transportation levy approved by Seattle voters in November 2006 and is expected to help ease congestion caused by car, bus and bicyclist overlaps. This project will also improve the pavement condition by repaving the street.

Specifically the work is expected to:

• Install a buffered bike lane on each side of the street
• Remove the two-way left turn lane
• Provide dedicated left-turn lanes at busy intersections
• Provide dedicated load zones for businesses that need them
• Provide in-lane bus stops to improve transit speed and reliability
• Install dedicated bus islands
• Install street lighting upgrades
• Construct new and upgraded curb ramps
• Construct sidewalk improvements
• Install drainage upgrades

Roadwork is scheduled to begin in March and will begin just across the Fremont Bridge, spanning Fremont Avenue N (Fourth Avenue N) to McGraw Street. That phase is expected to last 2-3 months.

During construction, you can be expected to experience lane closures, left turn restrictions, pedestrian detours, parking and loading restrictions and instances of weekday and night work.

For more information on this project, visit the SDOT web site.

Seattle City Light has an update for us on the construction that’s taking place on 34th Street.

In the next week the contractor will continue excavating and installing duct bank easterly from Woodland Park Avenue N. to Stone Way N. South curb and sidewalk restoration will begin from a point 70 feet west of Albion Place N. easterly toward Stone Way. N. Paving in the project area along Woodland Park Avenue N. is projected for the first week in March.

SCL has put a lot of your suggestions into practice to make it a little easier when driving through the construction. That said, if you can find an adequate detour for yourself, especially during high-traffic times, it’s worth the effort. The project is still expected to run through mid-March, we’ll let you know of any further updates.

The past two Tuesdays, Seattle City Light has held public meetings to discuss possible changes to the Traffic Control Plan on the 34th Street underground electrical improvements.

The project restarts on January 3rd but when it does, Seattle City Light will be implementing changes based on your suggestions. They include:

• Increase intersection signal timing at N. 35th /Stone Way and N. 34th /Stone Way to assist morning eastbound traffic in clearing intersections.
• Provide illuminated message board northbound on Fremont Avenue prior to Fremont Bridge deck.
• Increase the size and darken the print on the 48”x 60” Fremont Avenue/N. 34th Street road closed sign.
• Add “Local Access to Troll Wy.” sign at 34th/Fremont Avenue.
• Add 30”X30” detour arrow sign at N. 34th/Fremont Avenue.
• Remove barricade and add peace officer at N. 34th/Fremont Avenue.
• Add no parking barricade signs at 3 slots on east side of Fremont Avenue between N 34th Street and N 35th Street to assist with choke point as buses re-enter traffic.
• Add peace officer at N. 35th/Fremont Avenue.
• Add 3 standard advanced warning signs, type 3 barricade and flagger at 34th /Troll Avenue.
• Add no parking barricade signs on both sides of Troll Ave. between N. 34th Street and N. 35th Street
  Increase truck detour awareness.
• N. 34th /Fremont Avenue signal timing has been changed to assist in clearing bridge traffic

The project is scheduled to be in effect until mid-March. For updates on the project see Seattle City Light’s Construction Website.

If you’ve driven under the Aurora Bridge at any point since September, you know there’s been some construction going on down there. The re-wiring project, which is being overseen by Seattle City Light, extends between N. 34th Street and N. 35th Street on Woodland Park Ave. N. and between Stone Way N. and Troll Ave. N. (under the Aurora Bridge) on N. 34th Street.

Work on the project has been halted until January 3rd as the holiday season is here. However, that doesn’t mean things are at a complete standstill. Seattle City Light is holding two public meetings to discuss plans to change the Traffic Control Plan for the next round of work and they’d love to see folks from the Fremont Neighborhood there.

Some of the issues and proposed changes that are up for discussion include:

• Better signage, and electronic readers
• Additional flaggers & officers to control congestion points, including N. 34th Street & Fremont Avenue, and
• Troll Avenue & N. 34th Street & N. 35th Street
• Clearer direction for through truck detour to N. 46th Street
• Adjust signal timing to clear bridge opening traffic
• “No Park” on Troll Avenue to improve flow

Both meetings will cover the same topics, so you can attend either:

• Tuesday, December 21, 7:30-8:30am, at Adobe (801 N. 34th St.)
• Tuesday, December 28, 8:30-9:30am at History House (790 N. 34th St.).

The project is scheduled to be in effect until February. For current project information, visit: www.seattle.gov/light/aboutus/construction

As you know, the Department of Transportation is working on installing fences on the Aurora Bridge to deter suicide attempts. Construction has been slow and the WSDOT has some updates for us on how the project is coming along:

Q. Why is the first fence post at N. 34th Street in Fremont? Is that where the fence begins?

A. No, the fence will begin just north of N. 36th Street right above the Fremont Troll.

Q. But the posts don’t begin until N. 36th Street. Are you sure the fence goes all the way to the Troll?

A. Yes, the posts all look the same, but they differ in how they connect to the bridge. Six different ways, in fact, and there are five different types of posts. These post-to-bridge connections depend in part on whether the post is attached to the steel middle section or the concrete sections at the north and south ends. It turns out that the fence manufacturer completed the posts that connect to the steel sections first and so the contractor is installing them first. The posts in the concrete sections on the west side of the bridge will go up in the next week or two.

Q. Why are there gaps between some of the posts?

A. The gaps indicate locations where we must complete repairs before installing posts. As you may remember, crews discovered corrosion in 23 beams about three months ago. We determined the beams would need to be strengthened before we attached the fence posts at those locations and added this work to the construction contract. We completed part of the repair and are waiting for a manufacturer to build and deliver the steel braces that will reinforce the beams.

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A few readers sent us emails wondering about all the work going on at the Canal Building along North 34th.  We stopped by today and noticed crews doing interior renovations to 710 N 34th, the space formerly occupied by Pontevecchio.  We don’t have any exciting news about a possible new tenant, but we did get the scoop on the reason for all the work.

A representative for Real Retail, which provides tenant services for the building, tells us the Canal Building is undergoing some upgrades to make it more attractive for future occupants.  Right now, the work inside 710 N 34th involves installing an elevator to the upper levels of the building.  The second floor offices are also being renovated to give them more character.  While there are no new permanent tenants to announce yet, Halloween Express has opened in the building temporarily.

A proposed new building along the Ship Canal in Fremont just got the green light from the city.  The 3-story building at 118 NW Canal Street will have 932 square feet of retail space and 1344 square feet of custom and craft space.  Right now, a single family home (pictured below) sits on the site but it will be demolished.  The builder will have to follow shoreline development regulations.