Organization

The Director's Office provides strategic leadership to ensure the department delivers safe, reliable, and equitable transportation for everyone in Seattle. This team sets priorities, makes key decisions, and works closely with staff, city leaders, and community members to keep projects on track, respond to challenges, and plan for the future. With a focus on accountability and collaboration, the Director's Office ensures SDOT is a trusted, effective partner in building a better-connected city. 

The Finance and Administration Division supports our entire department by providing financial and accounting services. FAD also supports SDOT staff and teams in payroll, grant compliance, consultant contracting, procurement needs, records retention and public disclosure, claims, litigation and other legal affairs, and facilities and property management. 

The Capital Projects Division oversees all aspects of project management, engineering, construction management, environmental management, right of way and real property, and consultant contracting. Staff in this division provide excellent capital project delivery through proactive management, solution-oriented approaches, and commitment to the core expectation that we will deliver projects on schedule and within budget. 

The Policy and Planning Division develops city transportation policies and creates long-range plans to guide local and regional transportation investments. The division also designs and develops streets as inviting public places; seeks sources of revenue and grants, oversees performance of the transportation levy, and coordinates the department’s climate response. 

The Project Development Division combines the Seattle Transportation Plan with citywide goals, policies, and data to develop multimodal projects that enhance safety and mobility. Project Development manages our Pedestrian, Bicycle, ADA, Freight, and community-oriented programs and initiatives like Safe Routes to School. The Project Development team works closely with the community to develop conceptual designs for large capital projects and smaller crew-built projects.  

The Transit and Mobility Division works to create more equitable, efficient, climate-friendly and innovative mobility options for our city. This includes improving transit service and making transit more reliable, leading large transit corridor projects, managing the city’s streetcar operations, addressing the critical access needs and demands for the city’s limited curbspace, encouraging more travel options that include shared micromobility, and engaging with employers in efforts to reduce drive-alone trips.   

The Pavement, Signs & Markings (PSMD) Division, manages and constructs the City's pavement assets including, arterial and non-arterial roadways, sidewalks, and does ADA ramp design, engineering, project management and inspection. This division is also responsible for maintaining all arterial roadway markings and for regulatory sign construction and installation. 
  
In support of SDOT and the City as a whole, this division manages the SDOT Response Team (SRT), our Customer Care Team, and our Dispatch Office. The SRT helps motorists, police and fire to clear collisions that impact our ROW. The Customer Care Team responds to customer concerns, and our Dispatch Office receives requests for service and provides coordination for our SRT and operations crews. We also support the Urban Forestry and Maintenance operations division with snow and ice removal, and other street-related emergency response.  

The Right-of-Way Maintenance and Urban Forestry (ROWUF) Division is responsible for urban forestry services including landscape architecture, arborist services, and street tree, landscape, and irrigation maintenance. This division provides pothole response, street cleaning, street sweeping, alley flushing and vegetation management.  Other programs include crack sealing of street surfaces and shim installations on sidewalks.  Annually, this division prepares and updates the winter weather response plan and is responsible to coordinate routine and emergency response operations to tackle weather related impacts to the transportation network. 

The Transportation Operations Division is responsible for the day-to-day operation of our City's street system in a manner that serves the wide variety of Seattle's needs and travel modes.   From children walking and rolling to school to the delivery of heavy equipment, we seek to provide answers and designs that keep people and goods moving safely, support access to daily needs, and encourage a future of transportation that serves all of us.  Teams within the division design, install, maintain, and operate traffic signals and intelligent transportation systems; conduct commercial vehicle enforcement; administer permits for traffic, trucks, and parking; review temporary traffic control; manage data and records; review and select traffic control devices; manage programs to improve safety and coordinate special events in the public right of way.   

The Roadway Structures (RS) Division is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the city's roadway structures: bridges, areaways, retaining walls, public stairways, and other transportation-related structures, including the Elliott Bay Seawall. In addition to the capability and staff to self-perform inspection, repair, design, and maintenance work for these roadway structures, the division also manages the following capital programs: seismic retrofit, bridge rehabilitation and replacement, load rating, areaway, retaining wall, and stairway programs. Also unique to the division's business portfolio is the operation and maintenance of the city's four movable bridges (Spokane St Bridge, Fremont Bridge, University Bridge, and the Ballard Bridge) and a fifth movable bridge (South Park Bridge) on behalf of King County. 

 

The Street Use Division manages how Seattle's public rights-of-way such as streets, sidewalks, and alleys are used to balance the needs of a growing city. We issue permits for construction projects on streets and sidewalks to ensure they meet City standards. We also coordinate work on underground utilities and construction on private property that might affect the street. 

In addition to construction, we manage permits for activities that bring people together and benefit our communities. This includes things like street murals, neighborhood block parties, play streets, food trucks, and public access to waterfront areas at street ends. 

With the integration of Interagency Programs, the Street Use Division also plays a key role in managing large-scale projects led by other agencies and closely related City-led initiatives. Acting as both a collaborator and regulator, we ensure partner agencies succeed while safeguarding Seattle’s priorities. By coordinating across City departments, we leverage outside investments to maximize public benefit and deliver projects that align with Seattle’s transportation, equity, and sustainability goals. This integration strengthens our ability to manage complex projects while maintaining vibrant, accessible public spaces for all. 

The Construction Coordination and Mobility Management Division ensures Seattle stays accessible and connected during a time of unprecedented growth and infrastructure investment. This division takes a proactive, centralized approach to managing construction activity, coordinating large-scale projects, and minimizing disruptions to keep people and goods moving safely and efficiently. 

Our team oversees long-term project planning, short-term operational coordination, and event mobility management, while fostering strong partnerships with community members, private developers, and regional agencies. By aligning SDOT’s internal project delivery functions and strengthening collaboration across jurisdictions, we streamline right-of-way use, reduce conflicts, and enhance mobility for all travel modes.