Week of June 29, 2009

6 things bus riders should know about July’s I-90 lane closures

In less than a week, westbound Interstate 90 across Lake Washington will be narrowed from five lanes to two while crews replace the expansion joints on the westbound floating bridge. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is warning all motorists that the traffic delays could last an hour or more and stretch from Issaquah to Seattle.

The work begins Sunday, July 5 and sho uld be completed by July 20. In addition to WSDOT’s warnings for all motorists, here are a few things bus riders should know about transit delays and reroutes:

Delays – Bus travel times are expected to be delayed because all vehicles will be using the HOV express lanes across the lake into Seattle. This restriction does not end until you reach the west side of the Mount Baker Tunnel.

The I-90 work scheduled for July 5-20 is expected to create westbound delays of up to an hour.

WSDOT anticipates delays will be most disruptive westbound from 6-11 a.m. and 3-7 p.m., or when there are major events in Seattle. Also, eastbound traffic in the afternoon is expected to be slower than normal, because there will be no HOV lanes in that direction across the lake until the project is completed. There could be related slowdowns on State Route 520, Interstate 405 and Interstate 5.

Metro will make every effort to add buses to maintain departure schedules on east-west routes across I-90. Still, bus travel times are expected to take longer than normal due to anticipated traffic delays and backups. Most buses serving the Eastside make multiple trips across the lake in a single day, and congestion on one leg of the trip will create ongoing delays for individual buses.

There are more than 19 Metro and Sound Transit bus routes operating in the I-90 corridor, including routes: 111, 114, 202, 205, 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 225, 229, 981, and 989, plus Sound Transit Express routes 550, 554, 555 and 556. But, the congestion could also delay other routes and transit service.

Bus travel is still a good option for crossing I-90. Transit service, vanpools and carpools will be subject to delays, but at least you help get one more car off the road and can relax while someone else does the driving.

Reroutes – Because westbound traffic congestion is expected to be severe, Metro is planning to reroute all Seattle-bound service that travels westbound on I-90 from Snoqualmie, Sammamish, Issaquah Highlands, Issaquah and Eastgate. This will have little impact on bus boarding locations, except for two inbound stops.

Westbound buses that are headed for the I-90 floating bridge will be routed off of I-90 at 142nd Place Southeast at Eastgate and re-enter near Bellevue Way. This will divert buses around several anticipated I-90 choke points and give them a queue jump onto Mercer Island.

Routes 111 and 114 coming from the Renton Highlands will also avoid some portions of I-90. Mercer Island routes 202 and 205 will have a short reroute on the island to enter I-90.

Bus riders who normally board at the westbound Eastgate freeway station above I-90 should watch for signs directing them to a new boarding location.

Eastgate boarding – The reroutes could cause some confusion for people who board buses either in the bays at the Eastgate Park-and-Ride or the Eastgate freeway station above I-90 just west of 142nd Place Southeast.

All buses that currently serve bays at the Eastgate Park-and-Ride will continue to do so. The bus routes detouring around Eastgate will not stop at the bays.

Two bus stops will not have Seattle service during the reroutes: the westbound Eastgate freeway station above I-90; and the stop southbound on 142nd Place Southeast near the Eastgate skybridge.

Passengers who use the westbound freeway station should board northbound on 142nd Place near the back entrance to Bellevue College. Watch for signs directing you to that stop, and please use caution crossing the street. The eastbound freeway station stop will have regular service.

The buses serving the southbound 142nd Place stop will board all passengers in the bays on the main level of the Eastgate Park-and-Ride.

South Bellevue traffic – Many routes will be detouring without stopping through the bus lanes at the South Bellevue Park-and-Ride in order to access I-90. But, only the regularly scheduled service will board passengers there.

Both pedestrians and motorists are urged to use caution traveling to and from the South Bellevue lot because of the increased traffic.

Other disruptions – Bus passengers should be aware of other projects and events that could slow I-90 bus service from July 5-20.

The new Redmond Park-and-Ride garage will open next Monday, July 6.

The city of Seattle continues repaving Second Avenue in the central business district. Most of the I-90 routes travel on Second Avenue when leaving Seattle, and continue to experience delays downtown particularly during the afternoon commute.

I-90 routes that normally use the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel will be affected by closures of the tunnel due to preparations to start up Link light rail service. The tunnel will be closed to all transit at 7 p.m. each night from July 6-10, and then closed to buses on the weekend of July 18 and 19.

New tools – Both WSDOT and Metro are offering new tools for tracking travel conditions during the I-90 lane closures.

King County’s “Eye on Your Metro Commute” offers commute-time updates on transit disruptions Monday through Friday from 6-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. For more significant widespread disruptions, Metro customers can subscribe to KCMetro-Alerts. Information about both services is available on Metro Online.

WSDOT recently added new tools to its Web site to help drivers plan their commutes and help avoid severe congestion on Puget Sound freeways in July. They include new traffic cameras, estimated travel times, travel-planning guides, and real-time traffic updates.

Transit service for the holiday weekend & beyond

King County Metro Transit will operate with a Sunday schedule this Friday, July 3 for the observed Independence Day holiday.

If a bus route does not normally run on Sunday, there will be no service on July 3. Also on Friday, the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel will be open, and the King County Water Taxi and its neighborhood shuttles will operate on a Saturday schedule.

On July 4, there will be normal Saturday service. There could be some reroutes and delays of bus service in neighborhoods that are closing streets for parades, festivals, and fireworks. This is especially true in the Wallingford and Fremont area, where large crowds are expected at Gas Works Park Saturday night for the fireworks show.

On Monday, July 6, most Metro and King County offices will be closed for an unpaid furlough day. Buses will operate on a regular weekday schedule, but Metro’s customer service offices will be closed both July 3 and July 6.

See Metro Online for all the holiday details.

New Redmond garage opens Monday, July 6

King County Metro Transit will open its new Redmond Park-and-Ride Garage on Monday, July 6. The $10.5 million garage is the second half of a project to revitalize transit facilities in downtown Redmond.

The new three-story garage is located at 16201 NE 83rd St., and replaces a surface park-and-ride lot that was opened by Metro more than 30 years ago. Bus riders will find the new garage convenient to the adjacent Redmond Transit Center that opened on Northeast 83rd Street in 2008.

The garage has 385 parking stalls, including 12 electric-vehicle charging stations, on three above-ground levels. It also features: open exterior stairs, glass-enclosed elevators, interior lighting, plus emergency alarm stations and security cameras on each floor.

Metro will host an informal “customer appreciation” event on Wednesday, July 8 from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. to thank passengers for putting up with disruptions during construction of the garage. It will be held at the transit center across the street from the garage.

Shortened hours for transit tunnel July 6-10

The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) will be closing early Monday through Friday, July 6-10.

On each of those nights, the tunnel will close at 7 p.m. for drills and testing leading up to the July 18 startup of Link light rail. The tunnel will also be closed to bus service the weekend of July 18 and 19.

During some of the drills, you may notice fire department and other emergency vehicles parked outside tunnel entrances.

When the DSTT is closed, tunnel bus routes will stop on downtown surface streets. More information about those locations can be found online.

Three northeast King County road projects kick off in July

On Tuesday, July 7, the division will close West Snoqualmie Road Northeast north of the Woodinville-Duvall Road to repair a failing culvert under the roadway. The road will be closed in the 18000 block, and detours could be lengthy depending on your travel plans.

Also next week, the county will begin a project to replace a culvert underneath 140th Place Northeast near Woodinville. The culvert is located just north of 148th Avenue Northeast. For that project, the road will not be completely closed but there could be intermittent lane closures.

And on July 13, Union Hill Road Northeast will be closed between 208th Avenue Northeast and 196th Avenue Northeast. There are two projects scheduled this summer for Union Hill Road, and the first is also a culvert replacement.

In all of the culvert projects, the old pipes under the roads are old and deteriorating. If the culverts fail, it could cause the roadway above to crack, buckle, or develop a void. New, larger culverts also reduce localized flooding and improve fish and wildlife passage. Most of the projects will take several weeks to complete due to deep excavations and steep slopes.

Next county spot auction is July 8

The next King County Spot Bid auction will take place Wednesday, July 8 and features surplus office equipment, computers, and commercial kitchen equipment.

The auction is managed by the Fleet Administration Division, and includes both King County surplus and items from other government agencies. Previews are on auction day only, from 10 a.m. until the start of the bidding process at noon.

The auction will take place at Fleet’s warehouse at 707 S. Orcas St., Seattle. For information, photos and driving directions, visit the auction website.