A deteriorated street in the University District is new again—the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has substantially completed reconstructing and repaving 15th Avenue NE. This heavily traveled street now has new pavement, sidewalks, and bus shelters, and improved lighting and drainage facilities, in time for students returning to the University of Washington after their summer break. The project will benefit everyone who uses the street—cars, buses, pedestrians and cyclists—and was completed within budget and ahead of schedule.
SDOT’s contractor began construction on 15th Avenue NE in January of this year, and reached substantial completion by mid September. Some finishing work remains, and will be completed within the next month to close out the project. The improvements were funded by the Bridging the Gap tax levy, passed by Seattle voters in 2006.
15th Avenue NE was in poor condition due to age and heavy use and needed to be rebuilt to maintain an efficient and safe travel corridor for vehicles, pedestrians and transit. The street was reconstructed between NE Pacific Street and NE 50th Street with new concrete pavement, and resurfaced between NE 50th Street and NE 55th Street with new asphalt.
During the project, the team completed the following work:
- Placed 11,093 cubic yards of base rock and concrete in the new roadway – enough material to cover a football field 5 ½ feet deep!
- Made 371 truck trips to haul away old pavement and gravel
- Installed 52 new curb ramps to improve accessibility
- Placed 6 new bus shelters
- Redistributed street lighting and installed 4 new pedestrian lights and 7 new street light poles to improve visibility along the corridor
- Installed 16 new stormwater catch basins and 49 filters to improve water quality
- Created a new northbound left turn lane at NE 42nd Street
- Implemented a left turn restriction (transit only) during peak periods from northbound 15th Avenue NE to westbound NE 45th Street
- Rebuilt 6,500 linear feet of sidewalk
- Installed 26,913 linear feet of electrical conduit – enough conduit to wrap around the Husky Stadium track over 20 times!
To view pictures of the project, visit SDOT’s flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdot_photos/sets/72157625948669248/
For more information, visit the project website: www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_15thavene.htm or contact LeAnne Nelson, (206) 684-3897.
