Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and King County Metro are extending the Fourth Avenue South bus lane to begin at South Weller Street instead of South Washington Street.  The bus lane, which currently runs from Washington Street north through Downtown, is being installed this week in advance of the nine-day closure of the Alaska Way Viaduct that is set to begin on October 21.  The extension is expected to be permanent and will improve speed and reliability for the hundreds of buses that head north on Fourth Avenue every day.   

Construction crews started marking the northbound lane on Saturday, October 8 and expect to complete work by Friday, October 14 to give the travelling public a week to adjust to the new configuration.  As with the existing Fourth Avenue bus lane, hours of “Transit Only” operation will include weekday mornings from 6 to 9 a.m. and weekday afternoons from 3 to 7 p.m.

To allow crews to perform this work, travel lanes and on-street parking may be temporarily restricted, but Fourth Avenue will remain open to traffic.

For more information:  Bill Bryant, (206) 684-7240, bill.bryant@seattle.gov

Media contact:  Marybeth Turner, (206) 684-8548, marybeth.turner@seattle.gov