Here’s a look ahead at what Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has planned for the major repaving project of 85th Street, from Ballard to I-5, for next week.

Crews will be paving on the north side of NW 85th Street between Mary Avenue NW and 10th Avenue NW, during daytime hours, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Monday and Tuesday. One westbound lane will remain open to traffic during paving. bus stops may be temporarily relocated during paving, and short-term (2-3 hours) side street and driveway restrictions will be required. Residents will be notified in advance if their driveway will be affected.

SDOT will continue to replace roadway panels, sidewalks, curbs, and curb ramps throughout the project area. Access to and from NW 85th Street at Mary Avenue NW, 13th Avenue NW, 11th Avenue NW and Dibble Avenue NW, will be closed, and 10th Avenue NW will close once 11th Avenue NW is reopened.

Crews will begin roadway demolition and excavation on the south side of 85th Street between 3rd Avenue NW and Greenwood Avenue North. Access to and from NW 85th Street at 6th Avenue NW on the south side will remain closed for installation of storm drain pipes and concrete work.

Access to and from North 85th Street at Phinney Avenue North on the north side will remain closed for installation of a stormwater detention pipe.

Looking farther ahead, weekend intersection closures of North 85th Street and Greenwood Avenue North are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, to 6 a.m. Monday, March 12, and 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, to 6 a.m. Monday, March 19. Work will take place around the clock; noisy concrete breaking will be restricted between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m.

The intersection will be completely closed to traffic and pedestrians. Follow signed detour routes.

Starting next Tuesday, southbound lanes of Aurora Avenue North/State Route 99 will be narrowed from three lanes to two between Republican and John streets, just north of the Battery Street Tunnel.

The closure will last about six weeks as crews relocate utilities before construction of the State Route 99 tunnel’s north portal begins.

Metro Transit will reroute five buses that use this section of southbound SR 99: Route 5, Route 5 Express, Route 26 Express, Route 28 Express and Route 358.

During the lane closure, southbound buses on Aurora will exit at Valley Street. The southbound bus stops on Aurora at Broad and at John streets, plus the one westbound on Wall Street at Fifth Avenue, will not be served. This will affect approximately 385 bus trips a day on Route 5, Route 5 Express, Route 26 Express, Route 28 Express and Route 358.

The southbound detoured buses will turn left from Valley Street to Fifth Avenue North to travel southbound into downtown Seattle, where they will resume regular routing and stops. The buses will not stop along the detour route with two exceptions – they will stop on Fifth Avenue North at both Mercer and John streets.

You can find updated information on Metro’s Construction & Events page.

Seattle Department of Transportation will temporarily close access to and from the north side of North 85th Street at Phinney Avenue North beginning Thursday, so that a new stormwater detention pipe can be installed.

It’s part of SDOT’s year-long project to repave 85th Street from Ballard to I-5.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on North 85th Street near Phinney Avenue North during work hours, which are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday. All lanes of 85th will be open at night.

The work will take about 3-4 weeks, but it’s weather dependent, so it could take longer.

Seattle Department of Transportation continues its nearly year-long paving project on N/NW 85th Street from Ballard to I-5.

Here’s what SDOT plans to work on this week (planned work hours are from 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

Phase 1 – 15th Ave NW to 8th Ave NW

• Demolition, excavation and replacement of concrete roadway panels throughout the project area.
• Removal and replacement of curbs, curb ramps and sidewalk at Mary Ave NW, 11th Ave NW, 10th Ave NW and 9th Ave NW intersections.
• Installation of storm drain pipes and inlets on NW 85th St at 13th Ave NW (south side).
• Access to/from NW 85th St at Mary Ave NW (north side) and 13th Ave NW (north and south sides) will be closed starting this week.

Side-streets can be closed for up to 30 days; closure days are not required to be consecutive.

Phase 2 – 8th Ave NW to Greenwood Ave N

• Continue roadway demolition and excavation on the south side of NW 85th St between 8th Ave NW and 3rd Ave NW.

Residents and businesses will be notified in advance of impacts to driveways.

• Access to/from NW 85th St at 6th Ave NW (south side) will continue to be closed for installation of storm drain pipes and concrete work.

Phase 3 – Greenwood Ave N to Aurora Ave N

• Access to/from NW 85th St at Phinney Ave N (north side) will be closed beginning next week for installation of a stormwater detention pipe; this work will take approximately two to three weeks to complete.

Detention pipe work is allowed to be done out of sequence; Phase 3 roadway work on N 85th St is not anticipated to begin until spring/summer 2012.

Note: construction activities are weather dependent and are subject to change.

Upcoming Construction Activities (stay tuned for additional details):

• Nighttime asphalt paving on NW 85th St is planned between 15th Ave NW and 8th Ave NW at night on Monday March 5; the roadway will be fully closed to traffic at night from Monday at 9 p.m. to Tuesday at 6 a.m.
• Paving is weather dependent and could shift to the night of Tuesday, March 6
• Weekend intersection reconstruction at N 85th St and Greenwood Ave is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of March 9 through 12; the intersection will be fully closed to traffic from Friday, March 9 at 7 p.m. through Monday, March 12 at 6 a.m.

Here’s what construction looks like  at NW 85th Street and 6th Avenue NW on Tuesday.

Seattle Department of Transportation is postponing the repaving project on NW 100th Street from 8th to 14th Avenue NW. The work had been planned for Tuesday through Friday.

SDOT says the crew supervisor is looking at rescheduling the work to a time with a lower volume of traffic, possibly when schools are out for spring break.

Seattle Department of Transportation continues the nearly year-long paving project of N/NW 85th Street from Ballard to I-5. This week, crews will be replacing concrete roadways panels from 15th to 8th Avenue NW, replacing curbs and sidewalks, and installing storm drain pipes.

Here’s the latest from SDOT:

Phase 1 – 15th Ave NW to 8th Ave NW

• Demolition, excavation and replacement of concrete roadway panels throughout the project area (north and south sides of the street).
• Removal and replacement of curbs, curb ramps and sidewalk at the Mary Ave NW, 12th Ave NW, 11th Ave NW, and 10th Ave NW intersections.
• Installation of storm drain pipes and inlets on NW 85th St at 13th Ave NW, 11th Ave NW and 9th Ave NW.

Access to/from NW 85th St at Mary Ave NW (north side) and 13th Ave NW (south side) will be closed. Side-streets can be closed for up to 30 days; closure days are not required to be consecutive.

Phase 2 – 8th Ave NW to Greenwood Ave. N.

• Begin roadway demolition and excavation on the south side of NW 85th St between 8th Ave NW and 3rd Ave NW.

Residents and businesses will be notified in advance of impacts to driveways.

Note: construction activities are weather dependent and are subject to change.

SDOT recently completed installing new sidewalks and curbs near 14th Avenue NW, and curbs near 13th Avenue NW, on the north side. Crews also installed new drainage facilities on the north side of 13th Avenue NW, 10th Avenue NW and Dibble Avenue NW. And new concrete roadway panels were installed on the south side between 10th Avenue NW and 9th Avenue NW, between 11th Avenue NW and Dibble Avenue NW, and on the north side near 8th Avenue NW.

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) plans to resurface NW 100th Street from 8th to 14th Avenue Northwest at the end of this month. The work is scheduled to happen Feb. 28-March 2. Work hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane, being flagged through the work zone. There will be a police officer at the intersection of NW 100th and 15th Ave NW. Drivers should expect congestion and use alternate routes if possible. All crosswalks and sidewalks will remain open.

This work requires fair weather, and if the forecast is not favorable, the work will be rescheduled.

Recently we told you about a new city program that is bringing “greenways” to several neighborhoods, including Phinney Ridge and Greenwood. A greenway is a road that parallels an arterial, but is designed to be more pedestrian- and bike-friendly and less car-oriented, to help people get around their neighborhoods without fighting car traffic.

Our neighborhood greenway group has had two meetings so far, and is soliciting more input and participation. The next meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 April 5, at the Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N.

There are a number of ways to get involved:

• Join the Google group: phinneywood-greenways@googlegroups.com.
• Join the Facebook group.
• Check out the interactive map of suggested neighborhood routes and leave a comment.

For more information about greenways in other neighborhoods as well as Portland, The Seattle Times had a lengthy article today.

Seattle Department of Transportation reports it has completed rebuilding the intersection of NW 85th Street and 8th Avenue NW, as part of the nearly year-long paving project of 85th Street from Ballard to I-5.

Work this week will continue on NW 85th Street between 8th and 15th Avenues NW.

The latest from SDOT on this week’s work:

• Demolition, excavation and replacement of concrete roadway panels throughout the project area.
• Removal and replacement of curbs, curb ramps and sidewalk in areas.
• Installation of storm drain pipes and inlets on NW 85th St at 13th Ave NW, 11th Ave NW and 10th Ave NW.

Note: construction activities are weather dependent and are subject to change.

Next week: Work in Phase 2 is anticipated to begin early next week on the south side of the street between 8th Ave NW and Greenwood Ave N; two-way traffic will be maintained on the north side of the roadway.

Transit Information: King County Metro will post rider alerts to notify transit riders of detours and/or temporary bus stop closures for Route #48.

Don’t forget that the intersection of NW 85th Street and 8th Avenue NW will be closed again this weekend, so Seattle Department of Transportation crews can rebuild it. Large signs sit by the side of the road, warning drivers from every direction as they approach the intersection.

The rebuilt intersection is part of SDOT’s nearly year-long repaving of N/NW 85th Street from Ballard to I-5. The intersection will be closed from 6 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. Work will continue around the clock, but noisy work (such as jack-hammering) will be limited between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m.

Detour routes will be posted, and nearby businesses will be open, just a little harder to get to. Eastbound detours will remain in place on NW 85th St between 15th Ave NW and 8th Ave NW as part of the work on that stretch of road.

Metro bus routes 28 and 48 will be detoured. Check Metro’s Alerts Center for more information and to sign up for Transit Alerts.

Metro Transit had recently proposed drastically changing Route 28 bus service through Greenwood and Broadview, but those plans changed after Metro received feedback from the community.

The latest from Metro:

Now, Metro is seeking a second round of input to shape the final September plan that will be submitted to the King County Council later this spring.

During public outreach in November, Metro suggested replacing Route 28 and revising Route 28 Express as part of a package of related changes in Fremont and North Seattle. Metro has decided not to move forward with these changes now, but will consider making changes in this area with the launch of RapidRide E Line in 2013.

“Last fall, we received comments from more than 5,000 people, and that feedback was invaluable in helping us review and revise these proposals,” said Victor Obeso, Metro’s manager of Service Development. “Now, we want the community’s help again to continue moving forward with our vision for a transit system that is efficient, cost-effective, and best serves the entire county.”

The latest changes now being considered for this area include:

• New Routes: RapidRide D Line*
• Routes proposed for routing or frequency changes: 5*, 28*, 75, 16*, and 18*
• Routes proposed for replacement or deletion: None
• Routes with no change: 28X, 48, 48X, 355, and 358

* Route change proposal revised from November 2011

Most of the proposals support the launch of the RapidRide C and D lines that will connect downtown Seattle to Ballard and West Seattle starting on Sept. 29. For that reason, the changes primarily affect service in Seattle and adjacent communities. Some of the revisions, such as the proposed changes to the 2 (south), 10, 11, 12, 14, 123, and 125 will also improve the flow of buses through downtown Seattle, which will produce significant efficiencies for Metro’s overall system.

The introduction of the RapidRide lines and associated service adjustments will allow Metro to improve bus connections to jobs, shopping and other destinations – places in and around Seattle that have grown and changed over the years. Many bus routes serving these areas have not been adjusted for more than a decade.
People will have an opportunity to comment on the newly revised September service proposals during the second round of public review that is now underway. You can submit comments by attending one of several meetings and information tables Metro is hosting, or filling out an online survey.

To learn more about the proposals and ways to speak up about the changes, visit: www.kingcounty.gov/haveasay.

Metro is hosting another six open houses to get more feedback on final proposals. The closest public meeting to our neighborhood is in Ballard, from 6-8 p.m. next Monday, Feb. 13, at Ballard High School.

During this round of open-house meetings, customers will have an opportunity to review the revised proposals and share their comments. That feedback will help shape final September service recommendations that will be forwarded to the King County Council for action this spring (probably in May). Those unable to attend one of these forums can give us their comments via an online survey on Metro’s website.

And Metro is also testing a new version of its home page, and they’re asking for feedback through an online survey. The redesign is supposed to make it easier to find the most requested information, and should display better on mobile devices.

Just a reminder that the intersection of NW 85th Street and 8th Avenue NW is closed all weekend so Seattle Department of Transportation crews can rebuild the intersection. The intersection closed last night, and is scheduled to reopen at 5 a.m. Monday.

Rob sent us this photo last night shortly after construction started. (Thanks, Rob!)

The work is part of the nearly year-long repaving project of North/NW 85th Street from Ballard to I-5.

Update 12:10 p.m.: NW 85th Street is closed to through traffic at both 3rd Avenuw NW…

…and 6th Avenue NW.