The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has completed most of the street improvements underway at the heavily traveled intersection of NE Northgate Way and Fifth Avenue NE, just in time for holiday shopping. Crews will reopen all lanes to traffic by 5 p.m. today. In January, crews will return to install new poles for streetlights and traffic signals, and to finish the sidewalk areas around the poles. 

SDOT designed the improvements in partnership with the Northgate community to create a safer, more attractive pedestrian environment and to reduce traffic congestion. There is a new left-turn lane for traffic headed westbound on NE Northgate Way turning southbound onto Fifth Avenue NE, and an extended right-turn lane from northbound Fifth Avenue NE to NE Northgate Way. Also, there are new sidewalks, a new traffic 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.

This $1.9 million construction project is funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation levy approved by Seattle voters, along with state and local funds. For more information, visit the project website at www.seattle.gov/transportation/northgateintersection.htm.

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