AVALON/35TH PROJECT: What’s ahead – including work outside regular project zone

The weekly Avalon/35th repaving-and-more project update from SDOT includes a schedule for some work outside the basic project zone – the treatment on the steep SW Charlestown hill west of California SW. Also, early warning of a weekend closure of the 35th/Avalon intersection. Here’s the full update:

Asphalt base paving is complete on the north side of Zone C (SW Avalon Way from SW Genesee St to 35th Ave SW) and crews have begun excavating on the south side of Zone C.

Zone A (SW Avalon Way from SW Spokane St to SW Yancy St)
We are continuing work on SW Avalon Way between SW Charlestown St and SW Andover St, including:

· Finishing concrete paving work on the new bus island at SW Yancy St this week

· Completing curb ramp and sidewalk work at SW Charlestown St. SW Charlestown St should reopen as soon as the end of this week.

· Rebuilding the sidewalk on the west side between SW Bradford and SW Charlestown streets

Zone C (SW Avalon Way from SW Genesee St to 35th Ave SW)
We are continuing work on SW Avalon Way between SW Genesee St and 35th Ave SW, including:

· Demolishing and excavating the road base on the south side of the road this weekend and next week

· Maintaining daytime driveway access when safe and feasible during the workday. If you need to leave your driveway, please plan for delays of up to 1 hour. We encourage you to speak with our crews to check when excavation will take place near your property.

· Placing steel plates or building temporary driveways between 5 and 7 PM to maintain evening access

· Paving the north side of the road is anticipated for Friday, August 30. This work is weather dependent and subject to change.

· There will be no driveway access on August 30 from 7 AM to 7 PM

· If you need access to your car, plan to park on side streets the night before. You will not be able to use your driveway while the pavement cures.

Zone E (35th Ave SW from SW Avalon Way to SW Alaska St)
We are continuing work on 35th Ave SW from SW Avalon Way to SW Alaska St, including:

· Concrete paving on the west side of the street this week This work is weather dependent and subject to change.

· SW Snoqualmie St remaining closed for staging

While we are not conducting work in Zone B until we return to complete final paving, you may see private projects restricting parking and utilizing traffic control.

35th Ave SW and SW Avalon Way Intersection:
To rebuild the concrete roadway, we will be closing the intersection of 35th Ave SW and SW Avalon Way. The 35th Ave SW and Avalon Way SW intersection must be rebuilt to extend the useful life of the road, make utility upgrades, and make transit improvement for people walking, bicycling, driving, and riding the bus. Closing the intersection will allow us to complete this work as quickly and safely as possible. This intersection closure is weather dependent and subject to change.

(Corrected map substituted Friday morning – SDOT fixed Genesee’s mislabeling as Dakota on prior version)

· The intersection will be closed from Friday, September 6 at 9 AM to Monday, September 9 at 6 AM, weather depending

· Metro buses will be allowed southbound on 35th Ave SW from Fauntleroy between 3 PM and 7 PM on Fridays to assist with the evening commute

· This work will take up to 3 weekends

· Please visit our website for more information

· Please follow posted detour routes, see map above

High Friction Surface Treatments
In the next few weeks, crews will be placing high friction surface treatments on SW Genesee St and Charlestown Ave SW.

· Crews will be working on SW Genesee St from SW Avalon Way to 30th Ave SW. One lane of traffic will be maintained, with flaggers present to direct traffic in each direction.

· Crews will be working on Charlestown Ave SW from 46th Ave SW to 47th Ave SW. Charlestown will be closed to through traffic from 45th to 48th. Please follow posted detour routes.

· Work is expected to take place on both SW Genesee St and Charlestown Ave SW on August 28-29 and September 3-6 from 9 AM to 3 PM

In case you wondered:

What is a high friction surface treatment?

We use high friction surface treatments on steep hills throughout the city to reduce the likelihood of slipping on the roadway. Crews will put down an epoxy and then place coarse rock-like material on top, to create a rougher surface for cars to travel over.

Trickycoolj August 22, 2019 (9:25 pm)

That detour is going to make for ugly traffic in High Point.

Mark K August 22, 2019 (11:52 pm)

This is the craziest, longest and most convoluted detour that I have ever seen proposed by SDOT, but I suppose it just emphasizes that no traffic engineer at SDOT actually lives in West Seattle or knows about the traffic patterns here. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but we have the following possible travel scenarios, as spelled out in the email that I received along with the same detour map:”If you are traveling Southbound on SW Avalon Way towards the Alaska Junction, you will turn left onto SW Genesee St and right on Delridge Way SW. You will then take Sylvan Way SW to 35th Ave SW, take a left onto SW Alaska St, and take 37th Ave SW.”Why on earth would you do any of these things under any circumstances? If you are coming from downtown, simply take the Delridge exit for access to Avalon or the Fauntleroy exit for access to Alaska Junction. If you are coming from north of the bridge (Harbor/Alki Ave) and heading to Alaska Junction, surely it’s easier, faster and shorter to take Fairmont Ave or California Way/Ave and drive through Admiral to get to Alaska Junction rather than driving all the way down to Home Depot and backtracking up from Morgan to Alaska. The proposed detour is just insane. I see no scenario where this would be applicable.”If you need to travel Northbound on SW Avalon Way from the Alaska Junction, you will go south on 35th Ave SW and take a left onto Sylvan Way SW. You will then take a left onto Delridge Way SW, a left onto SW Genesee St, and then turn right to travel north on SW Avalon Way.”Again, if you’re going downtown from either Morgan or Alaska Junction, just stay on Fauntleroy and avoid Avalon Way altogether. If you’re going to Alki Beach, stay on California Ave. I suppose there could be a scenario of people who want to access the residences on Avalon between 35th Ave SW and the bridge and then the detour would apply, but in three out of the four scenarios, the detour presented by SDOT just baffles the mind.Am I missing something?

Sevenless August 23, 2019 (11:55 am)

Yes, you’re missing everyone who lives in North Delridge. Suppose I live in Pigeon Point and want to get to/from the Junction, since that’s where the nearest stores are… Other than the really sketchy hill on 30th Ave SW to High Point, or the even sketchier climb up SW Manning/Spokane/Hinds/34th by Luna Park Cafe, there’s no other short way between North Delridge and the Junction due to the lack of EB exits off the West Seattle Bridge. Sure those people wouldn’t use the leg of the detour on SW Genesee St, but 95% of it applies to them. scenarios.
Mel August 27, 2019 (9:13 pm)

We in North Delridge have already been feeling the effects of the Avalon mess, with stop-and-go traffic from Marginal Way/WS Bridge through Genessee more frequently than ever. People have been searching wildly for a “link” between the 35th corridor and “the way out,” and to many it seems Delridge is it. .Add to that the fact that, as Sevenless says, we really are not adjacent to anything and have to drive 2-3 miles in any direction to get to a grocery or drugstore, and we’re really hoping that our streets go back to something vaguely resembling normal in the fall.

Busrider August 23, 2019 (6:32 am)

The map should include metro stop detours. I cant tell where the buses will stop nb and sb during detour.

NorDel August 23, 2019 (6:48 am)

The map is incorrect. It should read SW Genesee St not SW Dakota St. The arrow shows where SW Dakota St is located.

RPH High Point August 23, 2019 (7:43 am)

West on Brandon, south on 30th SW, west on Juneau is the shortest route, but I doubt buses and large trucks could easily maneuver the major incline at the top of 30th SW.

KM August 23, 2019 (10:35 am)

They are probably trying to avoid sending arterial traffic on 20 mph side streets too, knowing that drivers who generally travel on arterials over 30mph would likely not slow down to 20mph either.

JTinWS August 23, 2019 (9:50 am)

The high-friction treatment is a great idea for those two sections! Very welcome especially going into the rainy season.

WSB August 23, 2019 (10:35 am)

Update: Without me even having had time to ping them yet, SDOT just sent a corrected version of the map. Substituting it above, with a notation, soon as I convert it from PDF to JPG. – TR

Bicycle Commuter August 24, 2019 (8:14 am)

This is a major bike path for commuters and it’s been very dicey since construction began. It would be great if SDOT could either include or make a separate alert for bicyclists to know the safe paths.

B Dahlia August 26, 2019 (12:16 am)

Love to know where the C line is routing.

Tanej August 26, 2019 (3:26 pm)

Doesn’t matter where the C line is officially routed. It changes from day to day, hour to hour, and driver to driver.

Deb August 27, 2019 (6:29 am)

What
is the timing for return of the center turn lane along Avalon and dedicated
left turn lane and traffic light at Avalon /Genesee corner to protect cyclists
traveling southbound on Avalon with cars turning left onto Genesee as well as residents turning into their garages, driveways and businesses when traveling on Avalon? I’ve
already witnessed several near auto- cyclist collisions when we were reduced to
a single lane of auto and bus traffic north and southbound on Avalon. Accessing the numerous businesses and driveways between Spokane street and 35th
requires a safe center turn lane that doesn’t impede traffic flow or cut off cyclists. This problem is especially prominent during commuting hours as the
buses make frequent stops and cars attempt to get around by passing the bus. I can’t get anyone from SDOT to respond to my emails nor phone calls. Help WSB!

sam-c August 27, 2019 (9:17 am)

I thought that center turn lane was being eliminated (except for a few intersections) completely by this project. ( which I thought was a poor decision, considering how frequently it was used by delivery vans, moving trucks, and people trying to turn left into/out of their apartments. But! the bike lanes will be better protected in the final installation, I believe, which is good. )
- WSB August 27, 2019 (10:36 am)
  
  We’ve reported the design before but for a refresher:
  https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/SDOT/MaintenanceProgram/Avalon/Avalon%20-%20ChannelizationPlanMap0523.pdf
  Short answer: As Sam-C says, the center lane is not coming back. Browse through the linked PDF to see the final design for the entire stretch. – TR

Sorry, comment time is over.