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NE 45th Street Viaduct Project - West Approach Replacement
Project Description
The NE 45th Street Viaduct’s existing west approach is nearing the end of its structural life and needs to be replaced to maintain a safe and efficient travel corridor for vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles. This project will replace the 468-foot west approach and evaluate the east approach and main span for seismic retrofit needs, minimizing the need for long-term maintenance and short-term fixes. The project is part of the City of Seattle’s Bridging the Gap program, and will cost roughly $30 million. The NE 45th Street Viaduct is a major thoroughfare in Northeast Seattle. It connects I-5 and the University District to the Northeast Seattle neighborhoods, the University Village, the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and businesses along Sand Point Way NE. The 1,480-foot viaduct was originally constructed in 1938 and portions of the existing structure are nearly 70 years old. The viaduct has had several retrofits and partial reconstructions throughout its lifetime; first in the late 1960’s and more recently in 2002. Project Area Map
Project Benefits Improves safety Keeps freight moving Protects an important asset Reduces the City’s maintenance backlog Corridor Aesthetics What will the bridge look like after it is replaced?
The cross section of the roadway will stay the same, with two westbound lanes, one eastbound lane and a designated pedestrian pathway. An initial traffic analysis indicated that a major widening of the viaduct was not necessary. Current and future traffic congestion is caused by nearby intersections, not the number of lanes on the existing viaduct. The west approach will be replaced with a new structure that uses a fill wall technology. The design consists of pre-made concrete panels used to create the solid outer walls of the structure, and backfill material between the new walls to support a new road surface. Project Timeline
Construction Information SDOT’s goal is to minimize the impact to nearby neighborhoods and to keep traffic moving between the University of Washington, University Village and the surrounding communities. The public overwhelmingly supported a full closure of the viaduct to minimize the length of disruption from construction. We are moving forward with this closure plan. SDOT is committed to continued coordination with the community, businesses and institutions, and nearby neighborhoods as we prepare for construction. We will also work closely with the community during construction to handle any issues that may arise. Some of the benefits of the full-closure, as identified by the community, include:
Environmental Considerations
The NE 45th Street Viaduct Project will be held to State environmental regulatory standards. Environmental considerations that will be evaluated include:
• Biological resources • Bicycles/pedestrians • Historic and cultural resources • Visual quality • Land use • Wetlands • Noise and vibration The environmental review is expected to be complete this fall. The final document will be released to the public for a 21 day comment period by the end of 2009 or early 2010. Project Funding The project is funded by Bridging the Gap, a nine-year levy for transportation maintenance and improvements. The levy was passed by Seattle voters in November 2006, supplemented by a commercial parking tax and an employee hours tax, and has a total expected revenue of $544 million. The goal of the program is to create a strong foundation for Seattle’s transportation future by reducing the infrastructure backlog and investing in major transportation projects. Public Outreach We are currently working closely with local government, institutions, community groups and businesses, as well as transportation agencies and other nearby construction projects, to gather information to help ease construction impacts. We are in the process of gathering feedback from the surrounding communities to ensure that impacts are as minimal as possible during the construction on the NE 45th Street Viaduct. Throughout final design, pre-construction, and construction we plan to create opportunities for the public to provide feedback and to learn more about this project. We recently held an open house about the project. If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can view the materials here. Open House Materials (Presentation Boards - November 12, 2009) NE 45th Street Viaduct Factsheet - Winter 2009 Questions or comments? The design team will consider comments and suggestions from the public about how to balance the impacts of construction while achieving the project’s goal of providing a safe and functional bridge. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will work closely with the community to share project information, answer questions, and address concerns.For the latest news and information, or to request a project briefing, contact: Michael Ward Maribel Cruz
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