No doubt you have seen Massana Construction crews hard at work under the Aurora Bridge.  WSDOT thought it was time for a project update to let you know what’s going on and how long it will be happening.

To refresh your memory, contractor crews are working on phase three of a three-phase plan to retrofit the Aurora Avenue bridge to make it better withstand earthquakes. This current phase wraps support columns with FRP (fiber reinforced polymer), a specialized wrap that conforms to the unique cruciform (“+”-shaped) style for the columns that support the bridge.  In short, it allows Fremont to keep the look and feel of the historical period while satisfying the safety and earthquake needs that come with a modern structure.

If you are in the area, take a look at the column across from the Troll on 36^th Street on the southwest corner. Crews just did a test section to see how it looks. It appears to have worked well. Now crews will wrap the other 14 columns on the north end and four columns on the south end with this specialized wrap.

We will be on this end of the bridge into early next year.

However…..we will suspend work and move our equipment for the Troll’s birthday on Halloween. We hear a lot of you Fremont folks like to help the Troll celebrate in costume. Maybe we’ll join you, dressed as a safety cone!

Images: WSDOT

We’ve seen a lot of new and improved features on Aurora Avenue recently, including radar speed signs and earthquake retrofits. According to a recent blog post by SDOT, there’s still a lot more to come.

The post outlines a whole bunch of impending improvements and changes in the area, while some of them will take place right in our own backyard.

Further south, SDOT is preparing to implement a series of safety improvements centered around the Aurora Bridge.  New signage will be installed warning drivers to expect merging traffic prior the Fremont Way and Halladay Street entrances.  This project will include improved directional signage to the Queen Anne neighborhood and minor tree trimming to improve the visibility of these signs.  Channelization improvements will be implemented concurrently on southbound Aurora at the Fremont Way and Raye Street entrances to Aurora.  At Fremont Way, a solid white lane line will replace the existing dashed lane line and extend 200 feet south of the point where the two roadways become one.  Since it is illegal to cross a solid white lane line, this new configuration will allow drivers entering Aurora to get up to speed before making lane changes.  At Raye Street, a new edge line will be installed to provide drivers with better sight lines when entering Aurora.  Coupled with the recently completed improvements at Halladay Street (for drivers entering and exiting northbound 99), the roadway around the Aurora Bridge will certainly funtion better.

I know the current set-up can cause some uneasiness when it comes to merging traffic heading onto the bridge so it sounds like these changes could help.

Read more about SDOT’s Action Plan here.

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

Update: Many of the street signs have disappeared or been taken off the street and placed on the side. Looks like the work has been delayed.

Perhaps you’ve noticed those ominous signs that have popped up all along Fremont Avenue from 38th Street to 42nd Street. Perhaps you’ve also noticed that they say you can’t park on either side of Fremont Ave. between 7am and 5pm between Thursday the 18th and Sunday the 21st.

Perhaps you want to heed all of that.

The SDOT is grinding up and repaving Fremont Avenue for the next four days, so they’ll be most displeased if your car is blocking their ability to do so. They’ve got tow trucks and they’re not afraid to use them.

Also keep an eye out for some no-parking areas on the side streets, such as the west side of 41st St. at Fremont Ave.

Last week we talked briefly about SDOT’s Transit Master Plan, which included plans for a light rail that would connect Ballard and Fremont to downtown, amongst other neighborhoods.

Yesterday, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn took to his blog and challenged the Seattle City Council to “be bold” and consider funding such a project.

For the distances served — neighborhood to neighborhood — it looks like the right choice for a number of corridors in Seattle. That includes Ballard to downtown via Fremont, the University District to downtown via Eastlake, and linking those to Seattle’s two initial streetcar lines to South Lake Union, the International District/Chinatown and Capitol Hill. Other cities have already demonstrated the promise of this approach, like Portland with its MAX system.

McGinn went to say that, even if the council didn’t want to act on the initiative, he “will not stop working to fulfill my commitment to expand rail in Seattle.”

Currently, the city council is working on approving a $60 car tab fee that would help save many King County Metro bus routes as well as provide some much-needed maintenance to Seattle’s roadways. But if they want to think big, like Mayor McGinn would like them to, they might discuss much grander plans soon.

After adjusting the city’s paid parking rates neighborhood by neighborhood across town (and decreasing rates in Uptown), the Seattle Department of Transportation wants to hear what you have to say about the city’s on-street paid parking system. SDOT is conducting an online survey about paid parking, as part of a project to make paid parking more available downtown and in certain neighborhoods.

You can find the survey here (I just did it, and it took less than 10 minutes).

By the way, SDOT has a parking map that lists every paid, permit, carpool, time limited, no parking and unrestricted zone, as well as parking garages and lots. You can zoom in by address, intersection, major landmark, or neighborhood.

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.

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.

The Aurora Traffic Safety Project just keeps on making updates to Aurora Ave. in an attempt to improve safety through low cost engineering, enforcement, and educational efforts.

Starting today, SDOT will begin adding radar signs to Aurora at various locations. The Halladay Street exit from Aurora northbound Aurora will be the first to get a sign as they get rolled out one by one.

Other Northbound radar sign spots include Prospect St, N 39th St, and at W Green Lake Way N.  Meanwhile, southbound traffic will see these signs go up at N 48th St and near the Dexter Ave exit.

Also coming soon will be reflective pavement markers between the dashed lane lines on the Green Lake curves of Aurora Ave.  These lane markers are intended to reduce the number of vehicle versus jersey barrier collisions that occur in this stretch of Aurora by providing drivers with additional guidance through these curves.

More projects are coming soon to Aurora.  Stay tuned to the SDOT Blog for more information, or, for a sneak preview, check out the Action Plan on our website: www.seattle.gov/aurora.

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.

Since June 2009, The Aurora Traffic Safety Project has been working to reduce collisions on Aurora Avenue North. Comparing the time between now and then to the time between April 2005 and March 2008, collisions have been significantly reduced Here are the details:

• Total collisions on Aurora have decreased 21 percent
• Serious and fatal collisions on Aurora have decreased 22 percent
• Injury collisions on Aurora have decreased 23 percent

Street improvements such as new sidewalks, curb ramps and new crosswalks as well an increased police presence and driver awareness have all been credited with helping.

See all the details on the project over at SDOT’s blog.

Update: The tree has been cut down. Thank you for your years of service, tree, we appreciated it.

Heads up, you’re going to want to avoid using 39th Street as a way to drive across Fremont for the rest of the day. A tree has come loose and is leaning on power lines at 39th and Evanston, causing SDOT to close the road at that juncture.

According to tipsters, the power is also down in the area. SDOT is on the case.

Cars coming from Aurora are being directed down Evanston currently.

Update (12pm): And so, the city of Seattle is moving on now that the snow seems to have passed us by. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will continue to provide snow and ice removal operations where necessary. Snow is predicted to taper off by late afternoon with temperatures dropping overnight.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is following normal schedules and operations. Seattle Parks Child Care Winter Break Camps are operating today as scheduled. The Amy Yee Tennis Center is Open for business. Community Centers, Pools, and Environmental Learning Centers will open at their regularly scheduled times today.

Updates on city services can be found at seattle.gov.

Update (11:30am) - The snow has returned. It’s a light dusting, nothing that seems to be sticking, but keep an eye on it nevertheless. The chilly temps are keeping some sidewalks icy.

Original - Snowpocalypse 2011 it ain’t.

Fremonsters are waking up Thursday morning to find a little bit of snow on their cars, lawns and sidewalks but that’s about it. There is a dusting up to an inch on the ground in Fremont this morning but the roads looks pretty clear.

The forecast does call for a trace to 1 inch more later today.

It’s currently 29 degrees out with a high of 35 expected, so stay snug.

Metro buses are on snow routes this morning, here’s SDOT’s first report of the day:

Most city streets are bare and wet this morning. Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation are treating major arterial streets to guard against the formation of ice in advance of the morning commute period. Snowfall last night was highly variable around the city. Beacon Hill, southern Rainier Valley, and higher parts of West Seattle appear to have had the most snow.

To know how the highways look, you can check the latest WSDOT traffic updates, the flow map and the full set of WSDOT cameras.

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.

In preparation for a big snowfall Wednesday, the City of Seattle has activated its snow plan. Early in the morning, ten snow plows will hit the north end of the city. At 9 a.m., the Seattle Department of Transportation “will go into a full 24-hour response plan to keep roads open, buses moving and critical emergency services accessible,” Rick Sheridan of SDOT writes. More from the release:

The response plan calls for deploying 30 trucks with plows, which will be prepositioned throughout the city in key locations such as elevated structures and certain trouble spots on major arterials. The department starting pre-treating major roadways with salt brine this afternoon in preparation for the storm. Additional details concerning SDOT’s response will be forthcoming as more information about the impending storm becomes available.

SDOT also reminds property owners that they are responsible for the sidewalks in front of their properties.

Mayor Mike McGinn says this storm could be like that of November 22, 2010. “Because Wednesday afternoon’s commute is expected to be difficult,” McGinn writes in a statement, “It may be a good day to work an alternate shift, telecommute or make other travel arrangements if possible.”

Metro Transit is also urging passengers to be prepared for the snow.

Wednesday’s snowfall may start out light in some areas, but transit users should plan ahead for bus trips that could be disrupted, delayed, and on snow routing. Even though weather in the morning may not be bad in your area, you should leave from a bus stop or park-and-ride that also has service when buses are on snow routes in case travel conditions deteriorate by the afternoon commute.

Click here for more on Metro’s snow plans.

For up-to-date information on the City’s response and roadway conditions, please visit: http://Seattle.gov/transportation/. Motorists can also check on current traffic conditions and roadway images on SDOT’s Traveler’s Map at:
http://web5.seattle.gov/travelers/.