FOLLOWUP: With strikers returning to work, here’s where two SDOT projects stand in West Seattle

| Arbor Heights | Transportation | West Seattle news | Westwood

With another tentative agreement for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302, work is expected to resume on many projects in the region, including two that SDOT has going in West Seattle. One is the Arbor Heights sidewalk project along the west side of 35th SW between SW 100th and 106th; SDOT’s LeAnne Nelson tells WSB, “We are working with crews to plan work starting on Monday, but it’s not yet known if there will be challenges in getting materials—with many public and private projects resuming concrete/asphalt work at the same time. It’s expected that the concrete work will take place first.” The other is the Chief Sealth Walkway Improvements project on 25th and 26th north of SW Trenton. Nelson says, “This work requires asphalt, which ended up with more of a backlog from the strike than did concrete. The team is checking with the contractor to determine when the asphalt subcontractor will be available to finish the trails.”

anonyme September 14, 2018 (9:59 am)

Workers have been back for five days, with little progress viewed aside from some more demolition. No concrete work. Is there any end in sight for this money pit? The landscapers did come and put a few inches of topsoil on top of the gravel fill in the new planting strips – which will all have to be redone, of course, as has some of the concrete. A number of people got beautiful new driveways. However, the pedestrian entries (many homes on 35th have no driveway) were demolished and ignored, as if the houses were vacant instead of housing taxpayers who need to get in and out. With an SDOT project, you can pretty much depend on double trouble in regard to efficiency and budget. This has been an eye-opener, for sure…

anonyme September 19, 2018 (7:01 am)

Very little work going on, and NO concrete as stated above. The latest completion estimate from SDOT is the END OF OCTOBER. Months overdue. Property owners along this strip should also be aware that the huge planting areas, constructed at great expense to taxpayers, will not hold street trees per plan. The city will be seeding them with lawn, which adjacent homeowners will be expected to maintain. Lawn – the most unsustainable, high-maintenance landscape alternative that exists. Anyone who wonders what this will look like need only look further north at the first section of this project between Roxbury & 100th. The beds are barren patches of weeds, garbage, and dog waste. Their excuse was that they can’t plant the trees on top of utilities – which, btw, were part of the same plan from the beginning. The incompetence and the spin around this project is outrageous, and hopefully someone will do a detailed investigation and expose this boondoggle.

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