Near the south end of Beach Drive SW, along Lowman Beach Park, an “intense” phase of work for the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Control Project is about to start, according to this alert:

King County contractors will begin installing a five-foot wide pipe under Beach Drive SW this month. The pipe will connect the new tank to the Lowman Beach Pump Station. The work will take about three months to finish.

Construction activity in the 7000 block of Beach Drive SW will be intense during this work. Road surface conditions will vary due to saw cutting, temporary patches and steel plates on the roadway. To ensure public safety, the following safety precautions are in effect around the work area:

• Flaggers and signs direct all traffic around the work site
• Pedestrians detoured to western Beach Dr. S.W. sidewalk
• Vehicle access will be available to local, service and emergency vehicles only
• Bicyclists will be asked to walk their bike past the work area

Wells have also been installed in Lowman Beach Park to control groundwater for this phase of the project. The wells are supported by generators and air compressors, which may increase noise from the project area.

Small concrete pours for the underground storage tank will continue while the road work is underway. Concrete trucks will continue to use the designated haul route to access the site.

What to expect:

• Work on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays
• Crews working on the 7000 block of Beach Dr. SW and inside the underground storage tank area
• Increased noise, truck traffic, congestion on streets near the project site • Flaggers and signs to direct traffic around the work area – delays of up to 15 minutes may occur
• Parking restrictions, sidewalk closures, and pedestrian detours
• Bicyclists asked to walk their bikes through the work area
• One lane of Beach Dr. S.W. available at all times for local, service and emergency vehicles only
• Steel sheets on Beach Dr. S.W. after hours – bicyclists should use extreme caution

When the project is done, the county expects fewer combined-sewer overflows into Puget Sound, as the potential overflow during major rainstorms instead will be held in the new million-gallon tank. Work has been under way for almost a year and a half, and has about one more year to go, according to the county’s online timeline.