information from the Seattle Department of Transportation

The Seattle Department of Transportation now shared updated every Friday to keep you in the know about the week ahead for the West Seattle Bridge Program.

In this week's update: 

• SW Alaska St red bus lane project update
• Decorative crosswalk installation in South Park
• Continued weekend work at West Marginal Way and Highland Park Way intersection
• Other news to know for the weekend: Seahawks game, Delridge RapidRide H Line work

Red bus lane paint that was recently installed in the Delridge neighborhood

SW Alaska St red bus lane project update 

As part of Reconnect West Seattle and following our recent paving work on SW Alaska St, we will be applying new pavement markings, including red lanes and “bus only” markings on the existing bus lanes. Red bus lanes help to improve compliance with bus-only restrictions and keep buses moving. Here is what is planned:

• This weekend, August 21 and 22, SDOT crews will be updating the bus lane signs and remarking lane striping on SW Alaska St near 41st Ave SW and 42nd Ave SW.
• The red bus lane material and the green cross bike markings will be installed starting the evening of the 24th and will last approximately 2-3 nights.
• Efforts will be in place to minimize traffic disruption. Most work will be happening at night. Drivers might be asked to hold for a short time while staging equipment or directed to shift lanes around the work area.

Decorative crosswalk installation at 8th Ave S and S Cloverdale St in South Park 

This weekend, we’re installing a decorative crosswalk on the north side of the 8th Ave S and S Cloverdale St intersection. This work is part of the 8th Ave S Sidewalk Improvements project that our South Park Home Zone team supported through community outreach.

Yesterday, we started this work by removing the existing crosswalk and through Sunday, we’ll install the new, decorative crosswalk. Work can start as early as 5 a.m. each day and will be completed around 3 p.m. We do not anticipate any full street or sidewalk closures during this work. If you are driving in the area, please drive slowly through the work area and follow any traffic control signs.

The art being installed at the crosswalk at 8th Ave S and S Cloverdale St in South Park.

The decorative crosswalk is inspired by a popular Mexican decorative art form, papel picado. Papel picado can be translated into English as “perforated paper” and is used for many occasions including the birth of a child, holidays, birthdays, weddings, deaths, and more. Read more about the history and art of papel picado here.

Weekend work at West Marginal Way and Highland Park Way intersection

We are continuing to build changes at the West Marginal Way and Highland Park Way intersection to make the bridge detour routes more accessible, efficient, and safe. This work is taking place the next few weekends on Saturdays and Sundays. We will start work in the early morning around 3 a.m. and continue until 1 p.m. each afternoon.

We know that encountering construction and additional delays on the bridge detour routes can be frustrating. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Please remember to be kind to each other and to the workers trying to make these detours safer and more efficient for everyone. We try and schedule work when it impacts the fewest essential worker commutes, and have so much to do we’re on the job almost every day of the summer when weather is best for street construction.

Map of work at the intersection of Highland Park Way SW and West Marginal Way SW.

For more information on this work, see our blog. 

Other news to know for the weekend: Seahawks game, Delridge RapidRide H Line work

• Seahawks games are back. This Saturday, August 21 at 7 p.m., the Seattle Seahawks will host the Denver Broncos at Lumen Field. This will be the first game with full-capacity seating since 2019, so plan ahead for game night traffic in SoDo and along the West Seattle Bridge detour routes and consider taking transit or biking to the game. Go Hawks!
• We’re continuing to build changes on Delridge Way SW. Landscaping and overnight lane striping continues throughout the corridor through the fall months. Lane striping is one of the final touches of our work on Delridge Way SW. Once complete, Delridge Way SW will have a new street layout, making it a better bus street and safer for people walking and biking. Read updates regarding the Delridge RapidRide H Line project and surrounding traffic impacts.
• King Country Metro construction continues in White Center and on 26th Ave SW in Seattle. As early as August 23, Metro crews will close 15th Ave SW between 106th and 107th in White Center to all general traffic. Access to businesses along this corridor will be maintained. The closure is expected to last until October. In Seattle, the northbound travel lane of 26th Ave SW between SW Barton St and SW Roxbury St remains closed for upgrades. This closure began in early August and is expected to last for 2-3 months. For more information about this work, visit Metro’s website. You may also contact their team directly at rapidride@kingcounty.gov or 206-257-3079.