There’s been a lot of construction on Queen Anne Ave N recently, and according to SDOT, the work isn’t going to stop any time soon. SDOT has blocked off much of the sidewalk and street parking from the corner of Queen Anne Ave N and Boston St. all the way down the block to Nancy’s Sewing Basket at 2221 Queen Anne Ave N, while crews dig up the concrete sidewalk and repave.

Although the businesses along this stretch will remain open during the construction, which is expected to continue through Friday, March 19, parking will be blocked off alongside the work zone 24 hours a day through completion. The sidewalk is currently open to pedestrians.

If you’re traveling off the hill tomorrow, keep in mind there may be added traffic. The southbound right hand lane of the Aurora Bridge will be closed on Wednesday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to allow Seattle Department of Transportation bridge crews to complete repairs on the underside of the bridge.

SDOT crews will be closing two of the three southbound lanes and the far left northbound lane of the Viaduct from 6 p.m. tonight, Monday, March 8, to 5 a.m. tomorrow in preparation for building an overhead “sign bridge” that will span the width of southbound SR 99 and hold an electronic message board. Drivers should expect delays at Ward St. just north of the Battery St. Tunnel.

This work is part of the Intelligent Transportation Systems project. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is working in partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to bring more real-time traffic information to drivers on SR 99, and major routes leading to SR 99 in Seattle. The electronic message signs will provide drivers with traffic information such as construction closures, lane status and travel times.  Six new electronic message signs will be installed on SR 99 from the First Avenue S. Bridge to N. 137th Street.
Installing real-time traffic information systems now will help keep Seattle moving during construction to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct in the near future.

Crews will install the actual sign bridge in the spring.

For more information on the the SR 99 Intelligent Transportation Systems click here.

Pedestrian and car traffic will be affected this week by continued construction on the Burke Gilman Trail in Fremont and the Ship Canal Trail near Seattle Pacific University in Queen Anne.

The Army Corps of Engineers “expects to continue work along the Burke Gilman trail through Tuesday, March 9, and also expects to start work this week on the south side of the canal, affecting the Ship Canal Trail.”

It is recommended that trail users follow detour signs. For more information contact Andrea Takash at the Army Corps of Engineers at (206) 764-3464.

The Seattle Department of Transportation has just announced two planned lane closures on the Aurora and Magnolia bridges next week.

From 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 8 to Wednesday March 9, crews will close the eastbound and westbound lanes of the Magnolia Bridge one at a time while crews repair expansion joints.

On Wednesday March 10 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. the southbound, right-hand lane on the Aurora Bridge will be closed while crews complete repairs to the underside of the bridge.

Keep this in mind when traveling over both bridges next week–added traffic is expected. SDOT also reminds commuters that the work is subject to change “in the event crews are called to perform unplanned, emergency work at other locations.”

The street parking from the corner of Queen Anne Ave N and Howe St. to 1900 Queen Anne Ave N. is entirely blocked off today due to SDOT workers, who repaved the area a couple of weeks ago, and are now working to remove and replant tress along the sidewalk.

Although the sidewalk is clear for pedestrians to pass through, parking along this stretch will be blocked off until midnight tonight.

If you’re a frequent Burke Gilman Trail bicyclist, you might have to wait until tomorrow to get in an evening ride. Debris is blocking the trail just north of the Fremont bridge at N 35th Street and North Canal Street. This just in from SDOT,

Debris is blocking the Burke Gilman Trail tonight in the Fremont neighborhood. The Corps of Engineers is working in the area.

While the trail is blocked, trail users headed to the west should detour to N 34th Street at Stone Way North, and those headed to the east should detour an First NW to Canal Street.

SDOT is working to get the trail cleared as soon as possible. Check back for details.

SDOT crews will be closing down the northbound right-hand lane on the Ballard Bridge from the north end of the bridge where the road crosses over NW Leary from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 25 for emergency repairs to an expansion joint. If crews are not able to finish the work in one day, they will return from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, February 26 as well. Though the left northbound lane will be open to traffic, commuters are advised to allow for extra travel time due to delays.

SDOT crews have closed off the west side of Queen Anne Ave N from W Howe St. to the 1900 building halfway down the block from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. through this Friday, February 26.

Work crews have already dug up the sidewalk and will be repaving over the next few days. Pedestrians are asked to cross on the other side of Queen Anne Ave N, and street parking in front of the construction has been closed off until the project is complete.

SDOT will be closing down the right hand, southbound lane of the Aurora Bridge on Monday, February 22, Tuesday, February 23, and Wednesday, February 24 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. while crews repair the exterior surface of one of the bridge columns. Expect added traffic when crossing the bridge in either direction.

Yesterday, Monday, February 1, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced that the long-awaited construction of the south Ship Canal Trail has begun. The work will extend the multi-use trail along the south side of the Ship Canal between 6^th Ave W and 11^th Ave W (shown as “Contract 1″ on the map below), as part of the Bridging the Gap Levy, a 9-year, $365 million campaign to propel the city’s transportation effort forward through maintenance and improvement.

Construction of this project, which is also part of the Queen Anne Neighborhood Plan, includes the paving of the trail, the clearing and removing of railroad ties and rails, the installation of several low retaining walls, and the installation of a chain link fence and wheel stops.

The work is expected to be completed by mid-March, should not significantly impact travelers near the path. Work on “Contract 2″, which will link the trail from 11th Ave to Emerson St and Fisherman’s Terminal, is expected to begin later this year. According to Supervising Project Manager at SDOT Stuart Goldsmith, the second phase of the project cannot be completed “Until we can work out a construction schedule with BNSF Railway and get them to issue permits for the private utility line that needs to be relocated so that the tracks can be moved to make way for the trail.” SDOT says this will ideally happen sometime in 2010.

Once the both contracts along the Ship Canal Trail – a 3/4 mile stretch in all – are finished, SDOT says “A critical gap in Seattle’s urban trail system will be eliminated.” Finishing the Ship Canal Trail will complete the Queen Anne Bicycle Beltway, creating a bike path that encircles Queen Anne hill and makes biking from Redmond to downtown Seattle almost entirely on dedicated cycling paths possible.

We’ll keep you updated and the project progresses.

(Thanks to Allie and SDOT for the image!)