Written by We ARE trying to fix some of the traffic problems in town, but it will be a little painful this summer :-(.
We are replacing FOUR railroad trestles within a few months, and three of them span roads which will need to be closed temporarily.
This will ultimately allow us to widen Rainier Ave, Hardie Avenue, and Shatuck Ave, which will give us more North-South lane capacity through our city…yay!
This will also allow us to fully update these rail crossings while we still have the East Side Line to carry freight to Renton’s airplane factory, such that the city will have new crossings in place when the rail line through Renton becomes the only rail access to the Renton Boeing plant.
The Shattuck rail underpass (just east of Rainier Ave) will change from a one lane “cow-tunnel” to a two lane road, but it will still only have an 8 foot clearance…if you have not see this tunnel near the downtown Radioshack you may want to see it before it closes down…I understand it was originally designed to let cattle pass under the railroad track, but now it allows one car at a time to go under the track as long as the cars are not taller than about 6 feet….the top timbers of the tunnel are lacerated by cars that were just a little too tall but never-the-less driven into the tunnel!
Here is today’s Seattle Times Story on this forthcoming traffic maze:
Brace for traffic maze in Renton
By Karen Johnson
Times Southeast Bureau
Renton drivers whose commute takes them under the city’s railroad overpasses will need to find a new route next month when crews begin work to upgrade the concrete and steel structures.
“Everybody will be impacted by this,” said Bob Hanson, head of the city’s Transportation Systems Division.
City Council members decided Monday when and where road closures will be so crews can rebuild bridges on Rainier Avenue South, Hardie Avenue Southwest and Shattuck Avenue South.
The $6.75 million replacement project is the first in a series of plans to improve Renton streets, city officials say.
Renton is paying BNSF Railway to increase the height and width of the structures so it can launch a road-expansion project set to begin as early as 2008.
The closures come during one of the busiest years for street and transportation improvements in the city.
Drivers have been dealing with detours in the South Lake Washington area since last summer, when workers began building roads and installing power, water and sewer systems for the Landing, a $300 million mixed-use site that will span dozens of acres in the city’s downtown.
Improvements slated for the Maple Valley Highway (Highway 169), Interstate 405 and Highway 167 could mean more closures and detours for residents.
But city planners call it “short-term pain for long-term gain.”
The new Rainier Avenue South bridge will allow the city to move forward on plans to expand Rainier Avenue South.
The Shattuck project, which requires the longest construction time, will allow the underpass to be widened to two lanes. Drivers now take turns using the underpass on the single-lane road.
Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
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