Fauntleroy Way paving project: “3 different types of repair work”

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Some of the discussion and questions following yesterday’s update on the Fauntleroy Way repaving project — which has now moved on to the California/Fauntleroy intersection — was noticed by SDOT, so Marybeth Turner has sent us this explanation to share:

There are three different types of repair work happening on Fauntleroy.

On the west side, SDOT is replacing some of the most damaged concrete panels. This is what crews have been doing most recently from north to south. This reconstruction began on June 22, and is expected to last five days (weather permitting). The west side doesn’t have an asphalt surface like the center and east side. The concrete work on the south side of the intersection will begin on July 6 and also is expected to last five days.

In a few weeks, crews will begin working on the east side of the street, grinding off the old asphalt, then replacing sections of concrete. (This part of the street has a concrete base with an asphalt overlay.) The east side will progress from south to north.

Finally, in the last phase, crews will completely rebuild the center section of the road (middle two lanes) working from north to south. The resurfacing (asphalt) on the east and center sections will happen towards then end of the project in September. The rechannelization (lane markings) will be installed after the paving has been completed.

Another photo from today, at the northeast corner of California/Fauntleroy:

Here’s the official city project page, which also explains the “rechannelization,” if you missed all our previous coverage dating back to first word last November that it was being proposed.

eigenwijs June 24, 2009 (7:59 am)

Thanks for the update – I have been trying to figure out what the heck they were doing! I was expecting full-on-tear-up-the-road-and-pour-asphalt, but instead they have been replacing concrete panels. So very confused… but now I know!

Sue June 24, 2009 (8:13 am)

I want to give major kudos to SDOT – on more than one occasion I’ve contacted people there via email to ask about certain projects (a street light we were petitioning to have put in, this Fauntleroy paving project, and others), and I have always received such a quick and well-explained reply from them as to what they were doing. When I wrote to the project manager about the Fauntleroy paving, she actually replied to me late at night and offered to meet with me if I wanted her to explain things further. I was very impressed.

valvashon June 24, 2009 (10:19 am)

SDOT doesn’t seem to learn from it’s mistakes. Just look at Westlake Avenue N or the section of 35th SW that they re-paved a couple of years ago. The marriage of asphalt and concrete just doesn’t work. The two different surfaces expand, contract and wear differently. Having them meet up in a driving lane also makes driving in that lane dangerous. I don’t understand why high volume roads such as the above two as well as Fauntleroy have the two different surfaces to begin with, and why SDOT is re-paving them that way. OK, I do, as I asked about this when 35th SW was being re-paved, and was told that cost was the issue. I ask, how many times do you want to tear these streets up and re-pave them? Concrete lasts demonstrably longer than asphalt. I’ve never seen another city where the side streets are concrete and many of the main streets are this half-baked mix of asphalt and concrete.

WSB June 24, 2009 (10:31 am)

Jessica Murphy explained this to us during one of the open houses. Short summary – the center section of the road is where the streetcar tracks were, and it has softer fill, so that’s why all the potholes kept erupting there. I will go look for my original link to see if it’s more clearly described … TR
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https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=12275
The December 1st open house for the “rechannelizing” aspect of the paving program (which then received final approval later that month):
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>>>>>At tonight’s open house, a handout was available declaring May-October of next year as the time frame for the Fauntleroy Way repaving project, described in part: “This project will reconstruct the worst portions of the roadway between SW Alaska and California SW.”

SDOT’s Jessica Murphy explained exactly what that means: Whatever money they wind up with, they will start by tackling the center of the roadway – the part that seems to get the potholes over and over again, where your left wheels hit those ruts, no matter which way you’re going.

And we had never before heard why the road deteriorates in exactly that way, till she explained it tonight: Fauntleroy, like a few other West Seattle arterials (California among them), was built in thirds. One outside section, bare concrete, dates back to the late teens. The other outside section, concrete with some asphalt over it, was built about 10 years later. Then, at some point later, the middle – originally kept open for other uses (streetcars, typically) – was filled in with asphalt. So the center third of the roadway, about 18 feet wide, is the soft part. It will be completely rebuilt for the entire stretch, Murphy said, and whatever money they have after that, will determine what else they do. “It just wasn’t built to handle the traffic,” she concluded.<<<<< . Since then - from our coverage along the way - the funding was in jeopardy at one point when the city started making budget cuts. THEN they finally came up with the money. Then the bid came in at less than the projection, so they expanded the project to SW Holly.

Jiggers June 27, 2009 (2:19 pm)

There’s a stream that runs all the way under ground from/beyond Thriftway under Zeeks and Feedback to the park. You cannot build ontop of the current existing buildings above the old Corner Inn becuase of the soft soil which consistantly sinks. Evrything has deteriorated beneath those businesses. I heard what the asking price for that Corner Inn lot, was and it was ludicrus to pay that amount for something you couldn’t build ontop.

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