Visualizations from Waterfront Seattle show before and after scenes at locations along the Pike and Pine streetscapes. The city doesn’t have designs for the Capitol Hill portions it is ready to release to the public.

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

Construction has begun on the $17.5 million street, bike, and sidewalk project that will make Pike and Pine one-way between the waterfront and Bellevue Ave — but don’t expect the change to one-way streets on Capitol Hill any time soon.

A spokesperson for the project that was celebrated last week with officials breaking ground and turning over shovels of dirt trucked into Westlake Center to begin construction on the effort tells CHS there is no schedule yet for the work to reach Capitol Hill though the hope is for the whole thing to be wrapped up by fall of 2024.

“We do not currently have an overall phasing schedule for this project or know yet when work will begin in the Capitol Hill area,” the Waterfront project representative said. “We are working with neighbors, residents and businesses in the area to keep them informed on construction work to reduce impacts, and are also sharing information and updates on our weekly construction email.”

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

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The City of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects is designing this project in coordination with the Downtown Seattle Association and the Seattle Department of Transportation “to improve east-west connections between the waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods.”

Gary Merlino Construction will take on the $17.45M job on the project that will overhaul the streets, improve crosswalks, upgrade bike lanes, and widen sidewalks on Pike and Pine from 1st Ave to Bellevue Ave.

“Pike and Pine streets are at the heart of downtown Seattle’s urban core. This improvement project will help people easily reach many of Seattle’s great destinations – Pike Place Market, the Convention Center, Paramount Theater, downtown retail, Capitol Hill’s restaurants and coffee shops, and so much more,” Greg Spotts, director at the Seattle Department of Transportation, said about the groundbreaking. “Whether walking, biking, or taking transit such as the light rail and the Streetcar, residents and tourists alike will have a safer, more comfortable trip.”

Officials say the work will improve the Pike and Pine streetscape by adding greenery, new seating, and consistent design from end to end. The improvements will include one-way traffic on Pike and Pine streets from 1st Ave to Bellevue Ave, with Pike being one-way eastbound and Pine being one-way westbound.

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

The project will add a continuous protected bike lane on Pike and Pine streets between 2nd and Melrose, with bikes separated from traffic by a planted buffer or curbed island.

In 2021, the state signed off on a more ambitious version of the plan that will include expanded sidewalks and planter boxes on the Pike I-5 overpass after a feasibility study determined the structure could bear the weight of the new infrastructure.

The work will take about 18 months, the city says.

For now, construction is centered on the downtown portions of the projects. With the ceremonial groundbreaking completed, the city says construction work is starting on Pike between 4th and 6th, and during work hours there will be lane closures on Pike between 3rd and 6th. Access to businesses and residences will remain open, and the work will occur in 4-block segments at a time.

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times, officials say, and bike lanes on Pike between 4th and 6th avenues will be closed with posted detours using 2nd and 7th. Alternating crosswalk closures may also be in place.

There will be no work happening on Pike and Pine west of I-5 during the downtown Holiday construction moratorium from Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Day — which might mean that period could be time to focus construction on the Capitol Hill elements of the plan.

The design will nearly double the width of the sidewalk on the north side of Pike, matching the plans moving ahead for the bridge over I-5 on Pine. The planter boxes separating the bike lanes from other traffic lanes will also be different than the ones SDOT has installed on bike lanes around town like 2nd Ave, planning them to be more durable and with a dedicated maintenance budget coordinated with the Downtown Seattle Association.

Artists Derek Bruno and Gage Hamilton are creating aesthetic wave forms incorporated into railings, planters, and bicycle buffers to support “a cohesive identity” for the streets in a project funded by the Waterfront program’s 1% for Art funds.

A coalition of community advocacy groups negotiated funding for the total streetscape improvements as part of a suite of public benefits provided by the Washington State Convention Center expansion. That $2 billion expansion is now open.

Once these changes are implemented, Pike and Pine will be fully one-way all the way to and from Bellevue, with further conversion to one-way operation all the way to Broadway still a possibility.

Right now, the city hasn’t said when the first part of any change up to Bellevue will come.

2024, meanwhile, will be a big year for transformations to major arteries serving Capitol Hill. The Madison RapidRide G bus line project is also expected to wrap up that year.

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

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