New Arbor Heights sidewalks: SDOT says project is in ‘final stretch’

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(WSB photo, taken during concrete pouring on Thursday)

The Arbor Heights sidewalk project along 35th SW between 100th and 106th is nearing completion, according to SDOT‘s newest update, sent this afternoon:

We’re in our final stretch of construction work! This week, we have accomplished the following:

*Our crews completed pouring concrete on all sidewalks on the west side of 35th Ave SW, between SW 100th St and SW 104th St

*We completed asphalt paving on the roadway against curb on the east side of 35th Ave SW, between SW 100th St and SW 102nd St

*We installed temporary striping (roadway markings) on 35th Ave SW

Next week, our crews will:

*Complete pouring concrete at curb corners and build ADA-compliant curb ramps on west side of 35th Ave SW (Please note this work was pushed back to next week due to limited concrete availability this week)

*Begin demolishing and pouring concrete at curb corners and build ADA-compliant curb ramps on east side of 35th Ave SW

This work will require maintaining existing closure of 35th Ave SW, between SW 100th St and SW 106th St during our work hours, 7 AM – 5 PM

In addition, eastbound traffic at the intersection of 35th Ave SW and SW 100th St will be intermittently closed next Monday, 8/20 between 9 AM – 5 PM. Vehicles traveling eastbound at this intersection between these hours, please do so at 35th Ave SW and SW Roxbury St. Flaggers will be on site to help direct traffic during this work.

Completed sidewalks will be accessible early next week. Pedestrians will be detoured to use sidewalk across the street during our curb ramp construction work.

Our crews will do their best to keep their equipment-staging footprint to a minimum and allow for more on-street parking available for impacted households to temporarily park their cars on the east side of the street and/or on the side streets. Please note that we will reopen 35th Ave SW at the end of each work day.

C August 17, 2018 (4:59 pm)

After completion, will street parking still be allowed?

Marisa August 20, 2018 (7:00 pm)

I believe there will continue to be street parking on that portion of 35th, but only on the west side of the street, similar to how it is on 35th north of Fauntleroy.

Nora August 17, 2018 (5:49 pm)

Will this include connecting stairs to the sidewalk for those of us who now have a giant step down to street level?

anonyme August 18, 2018 (6:56 am)

Please demand details of the transition areas from the on site construction manager. I found out yesterday (by accident, not through communication – god forbid) that they had intended to patch in asphalt right up to my entry gate, as if my property were a run down SODO chop shop rather than a home. The wrap around bulb also doubled in size from the original plan, becoming an intrusive eyesore with a very awkward, potentially dangerous transition. The latest completion estimate (not included above) is around Labor Day. It should be noted that not a single date in this series of updates from SDOT has been accurate so far. The two weeks we were originally promised for our stretch of the project has now become two months – and they haven’t even started the east side yet. This has been a horrible, horrible experience.

Kram August 18, 2018 (4:03 pm)

I did not think they were doing the Eastside except for asphalt to the existing curb?
Arbor27 August 19, 2018 (7:54 am)

I have to agree with Anonyme. the northern most bulb is to large.Maybe the width of the road is technically wide enough, but the road curves in a way that makes bulb really stick out into the flow of traffic. I think this is a case of blind allegiance to code without regard to common sense. Has anyone from the city come out and actually driven along 35th? They’d understand right away that those plans on paper are not going to work well.
- sam-c August 20, 2018 (8:36 am)
  
  Yes, that northern-most curb bulb is weird- sticks way out into the street. It causes southbound traffic to go in the northbound lanes. The lane alignment changes a couple times along that stretch. Hopefully it’s more clear when the project is done?

1994 August 18, 2018 (9:54 pm)

You can e-mail your questions and concerns to:PedestrianImprovements2@seattle.gov or to ching.chan@seattle.gov who is the communications lead for the AH projectMy question was about the width of the road lanes at 35th and 100th curb to curb creating a bottleneck at the new curb bulb. Ching Chan wrote, the southbound lane is 12’ wide and the northbound lane is 11.5’ wide – more than enough space for large vehicles,I talked with a Titan worker out there and he was kind enough to run his tape measure curb to curb at the new curb bulb, just under 23 feet.

anonyme August 19, 2018 (7:01 am)

Kram – I meant the bulbs, not the sidewalks.1994, we’re seeing the same issue at 102nd. These bottlenecks will undoubtedly cause accidents once the street returns to full traffic capacity. I’ve already observed vehicles stopping to go through one at a time. They will be back to tear it all out and do it over at our expense, guaranteed. These bulbs are massive. They would be appropriate outside Costco, but are obscenely overblown for a residential corner. Not surprisingly, I also found out that they have no intention of mitigating the damage that’s been done by staging and construction, but are leaving the mess for homeowners to fix – and pay for.If you want questions answered accurately, just ask Titan. They’ve been reasonable to deal with. Ask for Shaun, the construction manager. He’s a gravelly dude, but cooperative. You’ll get nothing but spin and nonsense from the overpaid mouthpieces at SDOT.

Wlcg06 August 19, 2018 (9:43 am)

When is the east side of 35th from Roxbury to 102nd going to get some attention? Is that in the plan for next year? It really needs maintenance as the sidewalks are crumbling and too many potholes to count.

Millie August 19, 2018 (10:08 pm)

Another SDOT project that will be over-budget and, definitely, the original project timeline for completion. Can’t agree more in respect to the size of the “bulbs” and how far out they extend into the street making both right and left-hand turn lanes more difficult. Won’t be surprised if the project is re-visited in the near future to remedy safety issues.When will the Mayor and City Council take accountability for SDOT’s apparent inability to maintain and construct roadways, bike lanes, etc. ? SDOT needs a “professional engineer” as Director as opposed to recent Director(s) and project managers.What is the timeline to complete 35th Avenue SW (Roxbury south) and Marine View Drive S.W. ?

anonyme August 20, 2018 (8:23 am)

As for “progress”: instead of figuring out sign placement before pouring concrete, they imbedded the signs. This morning they are drilling out the signs and re-drilling new holes to place them in — instead of finishing the job and getting the hell out of here. Don’t you just love seeing our tax dollars used so efficiently? The SDOT overlord stood and watched this happen last week. Golly, it’s almost as if this BS was part of the plan in order to pad the bill…what kind of moron makes mistakes like this? I’ve repeatedly gotten the impression that they think we’re either too stupid to notice, or they just don’t care either way.

anonyme August 20, 2018 (9:03 am)

Correction to above: they’re not just re-drilling holes, they are removing entire sections of concrete that were just poured on Friday. Concrete shortage, you say? There’s a serious problem here, and it’s not with concrete availability.

Marisa August 20, 2018 (7:08 pm)

Personally, I’m not too sad about the curb bulbs sticking out onto 35th. People really need to slow down on that residential 2 lane street and this will be a helpful reminder. There’s no reason to have an accident there unless you’re driving so fast you can’t stay in your lane.

Sorry, comment time is over.