ALMOST-WEST SEATTLE SCENE: East Marginal Way ceremonial groundbreaking, and levy talk

| Transportation | West Seattle news

(Photos courtesy SDOT. Above, by Tim Durkan)

As previewed here last night in our report on the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s latest meeting, dignitaries including Mayor Bruce Harrell gathered this morning for the East Marginal Way Corridor Project‘s ceremonial groundbreaking. One point of the event – also spotlighted at the WSTC’s meeting – was the mayor’s plan to later this week debut a draft of this year’s proposed transportation-levy renewal. From SDOT‘s summary of this morning’s event:

Later this week, Mayor Harrell will share a draft proposal to renew the transportation levy and address critical safety and maintenance needs across the city, including freight improvements. The levy renewal would fund repairs, maintenance, and modernizations to keep people and freight moving safely and reliably.

The levy proposal will allocate millions specifically for freight improvements and paving on major truck streets, supporting delivering goods and services, and focusing repair on the 20 percent of major truck streets in poor condition identified as part of SDOT’s data-driven Asset Management Strategy.

The levy renewal proposal builds upon the significant groundwork and community input that is shaping the future of transportation in the Seattle Transportation Plan.

(Photo by Luke Gardner)

The mayor also made a point of noting that part of the funding for the East Marginal project – currently in Phase 1, north of Spokane Street – came from the current transportation levy, which expires this year.

According to the project website, the central section of the project is in design, but the south segment is “unfunded for both design and construction” so far.

Danimal April 2, 2024 (9:22 pm)

I’m curious – I wonder if that old rusty overgrown railyard will be coming out as part of the project. I have heard it’s officially abandoned now. I remember seeing trains on it as recently as 2015. For any trivia-inclined folks – it used to be called “Whatcom Yard” and served the docks, in particular a rail ferry dock owned by the Milwaukee Road. The yard itself was owned by multiple railroads, and ownership transferred over time as old now-defunct railroads came and went.

bill April 3, 2024 (10:09 am)

Tracking down the exact ownership of the tracks closest to the road, so that they can be removed, held up the project for a while.

Mel April 2, 2024 (9:42 pm)

Does anyone know how to find out who has responsibility for the median spaces along this same span in the north segment (basically 99 North to First Ave.) to either side of 99? It has so very much litter in the overgrown scrub the entire length of the span. Is it the train yards or the city or county?

Arbor Heights Resident April 3, 2024 (12:07 pm)

I’m curious as well. It’s all infested with invasive Butterfly Bush and Fennel, both of which undoubtedly get their seeds spread far and wide by all the nearby traffic. Not only an eyesore, but an ecological detriment as well.