UPDATE (Thursday, March 31, 8:30AM): Chelsea Funis with EnviroIssues, and working on the 15th Avenue Reconstruction Project, has sent along an updated project plan graphic (which I have replaced my old one with below). Looks like the improvements for the north side of the intersection found funding! More great news for the users of this crazy mash-up of an intersection.
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I wrote back in late August 2010 about two local road improvement projects slated to start in the new year: The 15th Avenue NE reconstruction, and the work on the intersection of 22nd/Ravenna Ave/Ravenna Pl/54th/55th (AKA the “Scramble”) in southeast Ravenna.
Work on 15th Avenue NE has been going strong since January, starting with the southern end of 15th Avenue NE in the University District. (You can see how the project is progressing and sign up for weekly email updates here.) The Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT) goal is to finish up at the intersection with NE 55th Street by the end of the year.
How did the funding come about for the “Scramble” improvements? Just like with the 22nd Avenue NE repaving project of last year, the SDOT was able to fund another smaller, nearby project through the bidding process for a larger one.
The "Scramble," with street names
From the email notice (sent out March 25th):
During the week of April 4, 2011, the Seattle Department of Transportation will begin work to improve and repave the intersection of NE 55th Street/Ravenna Boulevard NE/22nd Avenue NE near Ravenna Park. The work is scheduled to be complete in June 2011. The improvements include repaving NE 55th Street from 22nd Avenue NE to 25th Avenue NE, reconfiguration of the intersection to make it safer for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists, new curb bulbs, pedestrian ramps and restriped crosswalks, and a new bike lane on NE 55th Street. Two new bio-retention areas will also be added in the new curb bulbs to improve drainage in the area.
The intersection will remain open during construction, but drivers and pedestrians should expect temporary lane closures, posted pedestrian and bicycle detours, and parking and loading restrictions. Drivers should consider using alternate routes to get to nearby destinations.
Final design plan for the "Scramble," courtesy SDOT - click to view full size
For more information, visit the SDOT’s NE 55th Street/Ravenna Boulevard NE/22nd Avenue NE Intersection Paving and Improvement Project website.
This will be done just in time for my daughter to move to a new school, which will mean I will drive this way only once a year. I am happy, however, to have a new term added to my vocabulary: “Bioswale”. I’ll tell the wife that our unfinished but now water permeable driveway is a “bioswale”.
Yeah, ‘bioswale’ is a new favorite of mine, too. My whole backyard, actually!
And you will be happy to note that BOTH bioswales in the project plans have found funding. Will be nice to stand near one and admire the other.
Actually, a bioswale is kind of like a fancy ditch. They are planted with native vegetation, and usually contain permeable substrate underneath (like sand). The plants and substrate act to filter pollutants out of stormwater, thus improving water quality downstream. SCIENCE!!!!