40 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: 35th SW work begins between Avalon and Alaska"

• DJ May 7, 2019 (5:45 pm)

  Typical incompetent City of Seattle planners and engineers.  First it was Avalon Way construction with lane narrowing and now 35th Ave…both at the same time now…really stupid.  Engineers/planners never cease to surprise me

• David Unruh May 7, 2019 (7:02 pm)

  At 5:30 it was backed up all the way across the bridge back onto I-5. If they’re not able to figure out a way to manage this better, it’s going to be a very long summer.

• sw May 7, 2019 (7:18 pm)

  I know that there were a couple of mentions on the WSB, but there was pretty poor communication on the road itself by SDOT.  For West Seattleites, this is comparable to Viadoom and really should have had a lot better communication advising commuters to take alternate routes.  I hope they have some portable signs set up soon to educate folks.

• Jort May 7, 2019 (7:28 pm)

  I encourage drivers who are frustrated by the delays to stop being part of the problem and instead become part of the solution by riding transit, biking or walking to their destinations. 

  • Gene May 7, 2019 (8:18 pm)

    Yeah right-tired if you labeling anyone who might need to drive” a problem” .

  • Martine W. May 7, 2019 (8:28 pm)

    Not all folks have the option to do as you suggest. I work in Shoreline and have to drive. (I also carpool a few days a week.)

    • Nolan May 8, 2019 (9:31 am)

      And yet, some non-zero number of drivers do have “the option to do as you suggest”. This isn’t a 100%-or-0% sort of situation.

      • KM May 8, 2019 (2:44 pm)

        Excellent point, Nolan. People not giving up their cars 100% shouldn’t be seen as a failure in a culture that prioritizes and encourages driving. Our family still has a car, but we sure do try to use is at little as possible. Not perfect, but a big improvement over how we used to get around!

  • Wewax May 8, 2019 (12:35 pm)

    This is certainly not the answer.  But thanks for playing again, Jort

  • DB Coop May 8, 2019 (8:42 pm)

    In case you haven’t noticed the buses are sitting in the same traffic everyone else is. As I’ve been saying for 20 years, the metro bus system is not a good rapid transit alternative.  

• West Seattle Hipster May 7, 2019 (8:37 pm)

  Definitely needed, my moobs do quite the shaking when driving over the stretch of road in front of the stadium..But 7 months???

  • Daniel May 8, 2019 (1:54 pm)

    Haha yeah that road surface is the worst right there.. I always stay the left lane and then move over which isn’t the safest thing but I hate going over the rough road. 7 months.. eh it’s a big project it’ll go by quickly.

• Gatewood May 7, 2019 (9:05 pm)

   Night mare beginning. Living through the tunnel for three years or whatever it was and now this.   I guess there  isn’t really a good alternative which is a problem.  I was a total tunnel hater but so happy now my commute went from one and a half hours to 20 minutes. 

• Jon Wright May 7, 2019 (9:18 pm)

  People complain about the crappy road surface and potholes, people complain when the crappy road surface and potholes get replaced.

  • 7months?? May 8, 2019 (8:11 am)

    They need to figure something out, 7 months is not reasonable. I feel like a random group of people with no knowledge could go in and fix the water main / resurface the street in 1 month…

    • KM May 8, 2019 (8:23 am)

      “this work will replace a water main as well as completely rebuilding the road, and it could last up to seven months”

  • Daniel May 8, 2019 (1:56 pm)

    I’m not complaining.. every time I go on that road I ask when is this going to be fixed?? Finally got my wish.. glad they aren’t just patching it over like they normally do which never fixes the problems.

• pagefive May 7, 2019 (9:29 pm)

  I’m with you, SW.  Somehow I missed the significance of this traffic revision which is going to be incredibly disruptive for a very long time – including to bus routes like the C line and 21. Traffic this evening was a total sh** show. Poor signage, no traffic police, and drivers taking a left from northbound 35th onto Avalon backed everything up real quick. (How is that even allowed?) 

  • sw May 8, 2019 (6:47 am)

    I hope the WSB folks are following up with SDOT and inquiring about better signage, traffic mitigation and enforcement.  My guess is that this project grossly underestimated the impact on Westbound traffic into ALL of West Seattle  – affecting transit just as much as other vehicles.

• Hire more people May 8, 2019 (6:05 am)

  They need to hire more people and use more equipment.  Micro crews and one shift are silly.  Hire hundreds of people and get the project done quickly.  No need to be slow.

• Seaview Resident May 8, 2019 (8:00 am)

  This project was grossly under advertised. The impact on the daily commute is far worse than during the viadoom.  I encourage SDOT to work with their project manager take a hard look at the construction schedule to figure out away to expedite the construction. Seven months of this is not going to work for our community. We have to consider people who are in an emergency situation and have no way to quickly get to the hospitals across the bridge.  We also have to consider people who must drive to work due to long distances and lack of transit options that have comparable commute times. Yesterday afternoon, when I was driving home from a doctor appointment downtown I thought there must’ve been a bad accident. I have lived in West Seattle for 17 years and only once have I seen the bridge backed up going westbound like that, during the snowmaggedon (in 2009 I believe). Leaving the gym this morning at 6:30am I could see that 35th (going towards the bridge) was already backed up the hill. SDOT, we need your help to find a solution that will work for the community. This current situation is unacceptable. 

• Andros May 8, 2019 (8:42 am)

  Come on, guys!  You should be able to do all this work in a month, tops.  The construction schedule and crews around here are idiotic.  One guy digging a hole with a backhoe and three or four guys standing around watching isn’t the way to work…though you can see it on any of these intersections on 35th Ave where they are doing work.  November as a completion date on this major road is unacceptable.

  • impatient voter May 8, 2019 (10:13 am)

    On the other hand, drawing out this road work until November is a good way of reminding the voters that Councilmember Herbold has failed to effectively advocate for minimizing the duration or intensity of construction impacts of projects in District 1 (or, more specifically, the projects that haven’t been canceled outright). She is more of a bystander than a representative.

• ericak May 8, 2019 (8:46 am)

  Why has the bus stop remained in place at 35th and Avalon?  With one lane of traffic only and a bus that halts that flow the impact in the intersection and the back-up onto the bridge for the evening commute was troubling.  If the bus stop could be temporarily moved outside of the zone of impact it would allow more consistent flow.

  • Trish May 9, 2019 (12:27 pm)

    I would agree that moving the stop(s) would be a good idea. They moved for construction before. So if they were moved back, even onto Alaska (to the 2 stops currenty serviced by the 50)  it might help. The pros are it wouldn’t impact as badly the flow of traffic on 35th. The stop heading to town( on Alaska) is already a left turn lane for the bus. The negatives are that those of us who use those stops will need to walk further. Also, the 21 would have to communicate for those wishing to transfer to the C. In any case I think moving the stops would help traffic flow and safety. I don’t drive and depend on the bus 90% of the time.  Buses and construction tear up roads. Roads have to be fixed. There is never a perfect time to fix the main roads into WS. Let’s all hope they are done before the first snow. :)

• Daly Comutor May 8, 2019 (11:32 am)

  What about organizing a telephone, email, and social media onslaught to all parties involved.  Enough to overwhelm their systems and staff; and then keep up the barrage of info till they come up with a solution that works for the citizens of West Seattle.

  • Daniel May 8, 2019 (1:57 pm)

    Um the work is already being done.. too late to change the plans

  • Tsurly May 8, 2019 (2:01 pm)

    That sounds like a good use of your time while you are parked in traffic. I (and many others) will continue to focus our efforts on reducing congestion by using alternative modes of transportation. I will be sure to give you a wave as I pass you on my bike loaded with groceries and kids.

    • Trudy May 8, 2019 (6:10 pm)

      Ill follow your lead as soon as i can figure out how to strap my 22 year old and her wheelchair onto the back of my bike. Your solution does not work for everyone. I changed jobs so that i work and live in west seattle. My 12 minute commute is now almost impossible. If only 35th or only Genesee hill were being done at once we would have more options

      • Tsurly May 8, 2019 (8:16 pm)

        Trudy my comment is not directed towards someone like you who absolutely needs to drive, and my posting history consistently reflects that. There are plenty of able-bodied, financially flexible people who could change their habits but choose not to, then come to the blog and complain and blame everyone but themselves for the gridlock around here.

• Daniel May 8, 2019 (1:39 pm)

  I saw the signs saying it would close which was unexpected, but that whole portion of 35th has had awful road surface for years so if they’re finally replacing it I’m very grateful for that. I was wondering if they’d ever fix it..Is it being replaced in both directions all along up to the hill?

• brizone May 8, 2019 (4:12 pm)

  Just when you think SDOT couldn’t exhibit a greater level of incompetence, they tear up Avalon, 35th at Avalon, and an intersection on 35th three blocks to the South all at the same time.  They’re really the Department of Roads (giving short-shrift to bicyclists and pedestrians) but can’t even actually figure how to do that single thing well, apparently.  Who on earth is managing these construction contracts over there?!?  SEVEN months to rebuild 0.2 miles of road?  SERIOUSLY??Remember four years ago when they began to re-time the signals downtown because they hadn’t updated anything IN TEN YEARS?  Just, sorta slipped their minds I guess.Like most things in their purvue it seems.  So utterly sick of this idiocy.I hope the new guy Zimbabwe knocks some heads around over there (but I’m not holding my breath…)

• 1994 May 8, 2019 (9:16 pm)

  This little section of 35th has been repaired repeatedly over the years….why have those jobs not been longer lasting? The road always seems to sink and crumble there and just uphill from Alaska.Like KM pasted above: “this work will replace a water main as well as completely rebuilding the road, and it could last up to seven months”Please let the repaired road last  more than  up to seven months!!

  • WSB May 8, 2019 (9:46 pm)

    “It” refers to the work.

    Some previous reports that noted the water-main replacement and road rebuild planned for this stretch, for anyone interested.
    March open house – https://westseattleblog.com/2019/03/happening-now-last-chance-for-pre-construction-qa-at-avalon-35th-alaska-open-house/
    August briefing – https://westseattleblog.com/2018/08/followup-whats-changed-in-the-sw-avalon-way-repaving-rechannelization-plan-youll-see-at-thursday-open-house/

    • Andros May 9, 2019 (9:03 am)

      I just looked at the project boards that they had on the August briefing.  Maybe I am mistaken, but nowhere can I find anything about the project lasting until November or any such start/end dates.  I think if we would have know this, we would have balked at such a large timeline for this small, but very important stretch of road being  reduced for so long.  It seems to me like they buried this information somewhere.  I think we are all in agreement that this needs to be improved, but the duration is what is upsetting to most folks in W. Seattle.  

      • Daniel May 9, 2019 (3:30 pm)

        Probably takes longer because they aren’t able to do it all at once.. they shut off a couple lanes at a time to allow for traffic to continue to flow.. no doubt this extends the overall timeline.

      • Tanej May 9, 2019 (4:03 pm)

        “Buried Information” is the right name for it!  I take the bus every day from and to 35th & Avalon.  Nowhere were there Metro signs indicating a closure of stops and removal to somewhere else.  Rumor has it that the temp. stop just north of the 35th/Alaska intersection is to be closed tonight, and a new stop opened at Genessee/Avalon.  Hello  –  ?  Any signs regarding that?  At least let riders know if they have to walk to a different place to catch the bus.

  • KM May 9, 2019 (4:06 pm)

    The rebuilding of the road will take around 7 months, not that the new road will last 7 months.  Everyone, we are going to make it through this. I swear. It’s going to be okay. Deep breaths.

• Gatewood May 9, 2019 (10:06 pm)

  Birzone. Yes yes  thank you! . Everything you said times 1000.

• Hadlie May 11, 2019 (5:18 pm)

  http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/maintenance-and-paving/current-paving-projects/sw-avalon-wayThis is us the website for the project  there is a place to sign up for updates  having driven 23rd Ave in the central district through that almost finished 4 year project this type of update has been very helpful. They did manage to keep traffic flowing one direction through the whole project  but there were alternative north south routes available  log in with comments  the bus stops are currently dangerous for all  

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