The city has awarded the construction contract and says work will start early next year on the project to overhaul the streetscape of Pike and Pine between Seattle’s upgraded waterfront and Capitol Hill.
Gary Merlino Construction will take on the $17.45M job on the $39 million project that will overhaul the streets, improve crosswalks, upgrade bike lanes, and widen sidewalks on Pike and Pine from 1st Ave to Bellevue Ave.
The work will take about 18 months, the city says: Continue reading
One year ago, Seattle stood by as theĀ giant boring machine drilling the state’sĀ new waterfront Highway 99 tunnel gotĀ stuck behind some sort of “mystery object” some 60 feet below the surface. At the time, we noted theĀ “extraordinarily lucky” dig to complete twin tunnels beneath Capitol Hill for the U-Link light rail extension.
Now, after a year of waiting and digging to unstuck Bertha, word comes that the process to rescue the boring machine might be making an even bigger mess:
Settling of ground beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct poses no danger to those driving on or walking underneath the 1950ā²s-vintage freeway, earthquakes aside, the state Department of Transportation assured Seattle City Council members on Monday.
What is unsettled, however, is when the giant, 7,000-ton digging machine called Bertha can be repaired, and tunneling resumed on the $2 billion project to replace the Viaduct. Bertha stopped a year ago.
āMarch is not looking like when we restart,ā DOTās Tim Moore told council members, referring to a restart date that was still in the state agencyās web site a week ago.
Not looking like a restart is one not so great thing, in a mealy mouthed kind of way. Settling buildings in Pioneer Square are another:
About 30 buildings in Seattleās historic Pioneer Square neighborhood will be inspected both inside and out for damage after the soil deep below slumped an inch from Highway 99 tunnel work.
The $2 billion project was planned to create a 2-mille tunnel as part of a replacement for the more than 62-year-old Alaska Way Viaduct. The WSDOT project was planned to open in late 2016.
