By ERIK HANSEN
GEORGETOWN - After 40-years of non-stop abuse under the wheels of the cars and trucks traveling north through Seattle, Interstate 5 between the I-90 and South Spokane Street interchanges has become undeniably dangerous. While Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) officials announced the renovation to the Greater Puget Sound area commuters on Feb. 21, WSDOT officials have been warning South Seattle merchants associations and business groups about the necessary closures since December.
In a Dec. 22 e-mail sent by WSDOT representative Stan Succhan - at the insistence of Seattle Department of Transportation spokesperson Gregg Hirakawa - to Georgetown resident and business owner Kathy Nyland, Succhan expressed his "regret that [Nyland] was surprised by questions about this project."
Succhan's pre-Christmas e-mail about the construction's scope is clear:
"This is a major project that will affect hundreds of thousands of drivers and community residents. We are still analyzing data to determine the potential affects on traffic; developing mitigation strategies; and coordinating with construction contractors, transportation agencies and transportation groups."
What Succhan did not make clear is how the small businesses in the South Seattle neighborhoods most heavily affected by the freeway construction will be protected. While Succhan mentioned "mitigation strategies," Nyland, a member of both the Georgetown Community Council and Georgetown Merchants Association (GMA), maintains that only some big businesses operating in the SODO and Georgetown area were consulted about those strategies.
"They talk about finishing mitigation strategy before conducting outreach," Nyland asserted. "Unfortunately, they only involved a select few for mitigation strategies and that is bothersome."
SIDEWAYS OUTREACH
Before the e-mail exchange with WSDOT, Nyland and her fellow Georgetown merchants and residents first learned about the I-5 project during and informal meeting Nyland had with Dave Gerring, the executive director of Seattle's Manufacturing Industrial Council (MIC). Nyland helped open a healthy line of communication between the GMA and MIC early this past winter.
"Relations between the neighborhood and MIC have not always been that great," observed Nyland, who noted that such strains are now in the past. "We actually have more in common than we oppose."
MIC was formed in 198 by a small group of volunteers concerned with the preservation of Seattle's industrial lands for industrial purposes. Presently, the group includes n0early 60 member businesses of various sizes. MIC's partner group, the Duwamish TMA, focuses on transportation issues and helps its members' employees use carpools, vanpools, buses and other alternatives to drive-alone commuting.
The council's website states that, "both the MIC and the TMA are proactively engaged with local, regional and state decision-makers to get the best outcomes possible involving government policies and practices that impact industrial firms. The Seattle Freight Mobility Advisory Committee is cosponsored by the MIC, the TMA and the City of Seattle."
As a result of the two partner groups' focus on transportation, WSDOT invited MIC and TMA to the I-5 construction mitigation talks. Gerring conveyed this fact to Nyland during an informal meeting the two had before Christmas. The news of the project surprised her, and in a Jan. 10 e-mail to WSDOT spokesperson Erin Stuber, she emphasized that many Georgetown businesses will be directly impacted by the inevitable traffic rerouting during the project and asked about the scope of the mitigation package.
"Can you tell me more about the mitigation package and who participated in that process?" wrote Nyland. "Many of the businesses in the GMA are located along Airport Way so the potential detouring through our neighborhood would have an obvious impact."
Stuber replied saying she hoped to meet with the GMA and update its members in person before vaguely referring to the mitigation.
"Our mitigation strategy has included the City of Seattle, transit agencies, the freight community and others," wrote Stuber. "We are still working on the design of this project and making decisions about closures and alternate routes; as we begin our outreach to the community we will welcome participants at these meetings to share their thoughts and ideas about the project."
DAMAGED
As promised, Stuber was present at the Feb. 6 GMA meeting, along with project expert Jim Ferris, to explain the project and listen to the Georgetown business communities' concerns.
"The stretch [of I-5] between South Spokane Street and I-90 is 40-years-old, and the deck is due for an overlay," Ferris asserted during his opening comments to around 25 GMA members.
According to a project pamphlet released by WSDOT, and reiterated by Ferris at the meeting, the northbound portion is the worse for the wear and the only one planned for repair. This section of I-5 is an elevated bridge that is also one of the busiest freeway stretches in the state. The bridge is comprised of concrete spans linked together by steel expansion joints. WSDOT states these joints are failing, which has resulted in parts of the joint's top steel plates randomly loosening and popping up dangerously into traffic.
Additionally, WSDOT noted that the bridge's surface has spots of exposed steel rebar and cracked pavement, creating an uneven and hazardous driving surface. Also, the decades of heavy traffic have compressed and worn the bridge's surface, which has created rain-catching ruts that have caused driver's to hydroplane in rainy conditions.
"Obviously it's a pretty high-impact project and we're working out an aggressive construction schedule," Ferris said.
After analyzing several construction options, Ferris told the GMA that a 24-hour work plan condensed into 19 days in August was chosen. To speed things along, WSDOT is offering a cash incentive of $100,000 per day, good for up to five days, for each day the contractor comes in under schedule while replacing the 33 failing expansion joints and covering it all in a smooth, new surface.
During this time I-5 north will pinch down from five lanes to three during stage one and only two lanes during stage two. Extensive on and off ramp closures in the area will result.
An open-ended penalty of $100,000 per day the contractor works over the deadline has also been proposed. Ferris said the design work is in the final stages. One of the hallmarks of the design, Ferris noted, is the use of quick-cure pavements that can be driven on within hours of being poured. The contract goes out to bid on March 26
Ferris said WSDOT has targeted Aug. 10-29 as the construction window due to the Emerald City's traditional predisposition of good weather during that time and lack of major public events.
TRAFFIC OVERFLOW
Despite the aggressive approach, both commuters and South End businesses will suffer.
"The roadways down here are going to experience really high rates of travel," Ferris said. "We don't anticipate people are going to use Airport Way, and we're emphasizing Marginal Way."
However, his statement contradicts the WSDOT pamphlet he handed out, which lists the Boeing Access Road to Airport Way South all the way down to South Spokane Street as the primary reroute for northbound traffic.
Additionally, Ferris said that WSDOT computer modeling of traffic patterns calls for an estimated increase of at least 400 cars and trucks traveling down Airport Way South from 7-8 a.m.
"We're talking about [pulling] 4,000 cars off of I-5," Ferris stated.
According to WSDOT traffic management center manager Martin Dedinsky, the targeted stretch of I-5 typically accommodates 7,000 cars per hour during the morning commute.
Along with concerns of lost parking, GMA members told Ferris and Stuber they felt worried the increased traffic would make it nearly impossible for pedestrians to cross the street. Many wondered about the WSDOT mitigation details, for which Ferris had no concrete answers. Instead, he encouraged the GMA members to submit their mitigation and traffic management ideas to his office.
To deal with the impact, Ferris highlighted WSDOT's list of suggestions. The common sense solutions include carpooling and using mass transit, working from home, and adjusting one's work schedule to avoid the rush hours.
However, the number one suggestion the WSDOT pamphlet lists, which Ferris emphasized at the Feb. 6 meeting, is for people to take a 19-day vacation during the construction phase.
"Traffic is like water, and it's going to flow. There's not too much we can do to stop it," Ferris asserted. "In the end, the work has to be done. It's a dangerous situation as it is."
More information about the project is available on the WSDOT website at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SpokaneStreetBridgeRepair. Erin Stuber and Jim Ferris may be reached by calling 206-440-4704 or e-mailing stuber@wsdot.wa.gov.
rik Hansen may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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