The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) begins work Monday, July 2, on a project to improve safety and relieve congestion at the intersection of Northgate Way and Fifth Avenue NE. To be finished in four months, before the winter holiday shopping season, the work will improve travel through the neighborhood by adding an additional left-turn lane from westbound NE Northgate Way onto southbound Fifth Avenue NE, and extending the northbound Fifth Avenue NE right-turn lane onto NE Northgate Wa.y

The project, designed in partnership with the Northgate community, creates a safer, more attractive pedestrian environment with new sidewalks; a new signal system; stamped crosswalks on all four sides of the intersection; and a landscaped median with trees on NE Northgate Way just west of the intersection. Bridging the Gap, and state and local funds all contributed to the $1.9 million construction cost. 

Phase one of the project lasts until mid August with temporary lane and sidewalk closures on:

• Eastbound Northgate Way from Third Avenue NE to Fifth Avenue NE
• Southbound Fifth Avenue NE, from Northgate Way to just south of Key Bank

Normal work hours will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with possible weekend work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Any intermittent stops of traffic will cease at 3 p.m. on weekdays to reduce impacts during the afternoon commute. To make the improvements some trees will be removed but replaced at a 2-to-1 ratio in the immediate neighborhood.

The NE Northgate Way and Fifth Avenue NE Intersection and Pedestrian Improvements Project is part of the Northgate Coordinated Transportation Investment Plan, which guides private and public transportation investments. It is also part of the Fifth Avenue NE Streetscape Plan created in coordination with the Northgate community. For more information, including regular construction updates, please visit the project website: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/northgateintersection.htm.