DELRIDGE PROJECT: 21st SW closes, and other repaving/utility-work updates

The intersection of 21st SW and Delridge Way (map here, and above) is one of the work sites spotlighted in SDOT’s newest weekly update on the repaving-and-utilities project preparing for the RapidRide H Line conversion. Here are the key points:

New work

Yesterday, we started demolishing the intersection where 21st Ave SW meets Delridge Way SW. We’ve placed signage at the top of the hill indicating the road closure/local access only for residents where SW Holden St meets 20th Ave SW, as well as for the slip lane that connects with the 21st Ave SW hill (approximate locations here). We will continue upgrading this intersection through next week, with a goal of reopening the area to traffic soon.

Continuing work

Later this month, we will seal cracks in the roadway in North Delridge where we recently completed milling the road. Paving is still scheduled for the week of May 24.

We are finishing upgrading the third quadrant of the SW Orchard St intersection this week. We will plan to begin upgrading the final quadrant of the intersection next week.

We will resume electrical upgrades on the east side of Delridge Way SW between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St. We will need to demolish and trench the roadway in front of the properties in this area, but will maintain access in and out of driveways with steel plates. People driving may experience a slightly shifted traffic pattern in this area.

Those are the highlights, but there’s more work under way – see the full weekly update here.

12 Replies to "DELRIDGE PROJECT: 21st SW closes, and other repaving/utility-work updates"

  • Kram May 7, 2021 (4:34 pm)

    All the cars trying to get to and from Highland Park will swarm the side
    streets. Lots of cars already flying through Delridge neighborhoods. I
    still don’t understand why some of this work was not differed or phased
    differently with the bridge out. 20th -> Holden is currently a major
    artery for traffic. Also; ‘Soon’ is a terrible word to use for
    scheduling. Set an expectation and miss it, that is how SDOT always
    operates. Using ‘soon’ means SDOT will never be wrong. Sneaky stuff SDOT!

    • AMD May 7, 2021 (7:28 pm)

      It would be even worse if the bridge was in operation because more people would be using Delridge instead of just crossing it.  It would be worse to put it off in general because there are fewer cars on the road right now due to COVID.  Putting off infrastructure improvements necessary to implement a Rapid Transit option until there are fewer cars on the road doesn’t make any sense in general.  It’s inconvenient and that’s a bummer, but honestly it would only be more inconvenient if it were put off until later.  If you want to get to and from downtown quickly, take the bus.

      • kram May 8, 2021 (5:55 pm)

        More people are not using this street when the bridge is open. Not even close. I’m not talking about Delridge, I’m talking about all the people going to Kenyon.

    • David May 9, 2021 (11:48 am)

      Agree, Kram this SDOT Delridge Way road construction project is very ill timed and should have been postponed till the summer of 2022 at least when the West Seattle Bridge is scheduled to be reopened.   The Highland Park Way/Holden/Orchard street corridor has become a major entry/exit point to West Seattle with the bridge being closed and traffic already doubling/tripling pre-pandemic levels thru this corridor when the bridge was open!   With the ill timed Delridge project, even more traffic is being forced onto Roxbury/Olson Place Drive as traffic is nearing pre-pandemic levels with schools and other places opening back up!   I work on Beacon Hill, not Downtown and particularly my evening commute back home to mr Olympic Heights neighborhood is nearing 40 minutes on many days.Heads need to roll at SDOT/City Hall, not only for the WS Bridge debacle but also okaying the ill timed Delridge Way project that should have been postponed till the WS Bridge has reopened!  

      • WSB May 9, 2021 (1:13 pm)

        This is not a negation of your complaints, just a reminder for anyone who’s lost track that the Delridge work is in preparation for the RapidRide H Line launch (much of the street being rebuilt in concrete to handle the big buses, etc.), long planned even before the bridge, and even with delays the bus conversion (originally scheduled for 2020, then 2021, now 2022) is scheduled to happen before the bridge reopens.

        • David May 9, 2021 (6:16 pm)

          Thanks for the info WSB!

  • Yup May 7, 2021 (6:16 pm)

    So many people driving past the road closed sign,  and then burning tires up the street passed the road is closed.  I can’t wait for the speed bumps on 20th. Maybe it will slow you people down.  I see 40 to 50 mph daily up and down the street.  

    • DH May 8, 2021 (6:41 am)

      I’m on 20th. Lots of cars flying down this street. It’s only a matter of time before one of these frustrated people hits a pedestrian. MAYBE after someone is seriously injured somebody will do something to fix this problem. I hope it’s not me since I walk my dog on my street regularly.  

  • Seattleite May 8, 2021 (9:35 am)

    I live very near to that closure on the hill side.  This closure is a significant inconvenience for us, but I’m glad the road and bus stop will be improved.  Unfortunately, for two days there was a steady stream of frustrated drivers ignoring the signs and coming down 20th anyhow, then turning around in the dead end streets by the closure.  Thankfully, late yesterday, SDOT put better signage at the top of 20th, on Holden.  It would help if the signs were at the intersection of 16th and Holden, so folks trying to get through didn’t head this direction at all.  Holden to 20th/21st has been a MAJOR through way into and out of West Seattle since the bridge closure even though it has no shoulders, no sidewalks, and a difficult turn.  I highly recommend you go all the way down to Roxbury if you want to get “off the island.”

  • Yup May 8, 2021 (1:57 pm)

    This morning I saw a 40′ semi go right by the sign and go down the hill. He had to back up all the way up the hill. They aren’t allowed past 7-11, but I see it all the time.  

  • brizone May 10, 2021 (9:03 am)

    How does SDOT fail to communicate that 21st is closed with a sign at 16th?  Seriously: What is wrong with those people?  Sometimes it seems like they’re TRYING to make traffic worse.  I mean, how out-of-touch do you need to be to miss such a simple and obvious thing like that?  

    • Seattleite May 11, 2021 (7:45 am)

      Oh, there is a now huge electric sign that says “local access only, no through traffic” but several cars an hour still ignore that.  We have view of this corner and are shocked at how many people think they are special and can somehow get through.  We even saw a young driver move the road closed barrier and drive into the construction zone to try to get through.

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