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Partnership produces major road
relief on Sammamish Plateau
Doug MacDonald from the Washington State Department of Transportation shakes
hands with King County Executive Ron Sims at the Sunset Interchange ribbon
cutting ceremony.
Friday, Aug. 29th marked a milestone for transportation in King
County, as a brand new $178 million road network opened between Interstate 90
and the Sammamish Plateau.
State, county and local transportation officials are calling the
Sunset
Interchange/Highlands Drive network one of the biggest, most collaborative
transportation projects in recent history.
"The partnerships and coordination on the interchange and SPAR roads have
been phenomenal. This truly is a 21st Century transportation
solution," said King County Executive Ron
Sims. "It is also an example of doing it right. We are building a
transportation network concurrently with new development, and we are working
together in new ways that will be key to completing future regional
transportation improvements."
Friday’s ribbon cutting marked the end of construction for the new
interchange, and the complete opening of Highlands Drive, which was built by
King County and Port Blakely Communities. Together, the three projects connect
the communities north of I-90 into the regional transportation network. The
opening of the interchange also allows Port Blakely to move forward with plans
to build more homes, new businesses and a campus for Microsoft within their
Issaquah Highlands development.
Highlands Drive – formerly known as the
Sammamish
Plateau Access Road (SPAR) – has been built to accommodate multiple modes of
transportation. In addition to the roadway, there are transit facilities, ample
sidewalks and a porous pedestrian and bike path that is very environmentally
friendly.
This project also demonstrates the modern-day emphasis of integrating transit
into road projects.
Metro Transit is currently designing
a park-and-ride garage to serve the people who will be living and working in
Issaquah Highlands and the surrounding communities. That garage is expected to
be under construction next year. Sound
Transit [external link] is a partner on
the garage, and in the meantime has built an interim lot so that regional bus
service via Route 554 can be extended to the Issaquah Highlands area as soon as
next month.
Sound Transit and King County were also funding partners in the interchange
project.
On Friday, Executive Sims said the new network establishes a model for the
future.
"These projects we are celebrating today demonstrate that collaboration
produces real traffic relief," said Sims. "And, it is an example of how we will
work together in new ways to complete future transportation improvements for
this region."
[watch
video]
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Go Huskies! Go Metro!
For the 2003 season, the
UW
Huskies [external link]
once again have King County Metro Transit
on their team. Starting Saturday, Sept. 6 football fans can eliminate driving
and parking hassles to and from Husky Stadium by riding the bus. Metro is
providing both regular service to the stadium and
special
service from eight outlying park-and-ride lots, plus supplemental service to
other key locations.The ride is free on any Metro bus, and on
Sound Transit's Route 550, when you show your game ticket or ticket stub to the
bus driver.
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'Inside
Transportation' has the latest news
The September edition of the "Inside
Transportation" television show begins airing Sept. 2 on King County Civic
Television.This month’s edition features the latest news on Metro Transit’s
September service change and the opening of the Road Services Division’s
Highlands Drive project. There is also a look inside the scientific world of
Road’s materials engineering lab, celebrities at King County International
Airport, and innovations in the county’s purchasing program.
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Kudos to the best bus driver in the
state
 For the second time in the past three years, King County
Metro Transit’s very own Michael Grady is the Washington State Public
Transportation Roadeo champion. Grady, a 22-year veteran driver out of Metro
Transit’s East Base, scored 586 points out of a possible 600 while negotiating
the 11 different driving challenges on a specially designed course in Spokane on
Aug. 26. Grady also won the title in 2001, and with Donald Brady winning in
2002, this marks the third straight year a King County Metro driver has claimed
the state title.Grady’s win is even more remarkable considering he was
driving a New Flyer low-floor 40-foot bus, a bus he doesn’t normally drive.
Grady will now go on to represent the state of Washington in the National Bus
Roadeo finals in Salt Lake City on Sept. 27.
The Metro team of Arvin Vulliet from North Base, Gerry McKenna from East
Base, and Bryan Stites from Component Supply Center finished second in the state
maintenance competition for the second consecutive year.
[watch video]
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Roadwork ahead
Here is a list of King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel this week:
Northeast 124th Street, north of Redmond – Northeast 124th
Street between Willows Road and State Route 202 (Redmond-Woodinville Road) will
be closed to through traffic from 7 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 until 7 p.m. Thursday,
Oct. 2. Motorists should follow the marked detour along Willows Road, Northeast
116th Street, 154th Place Northeast, and SR 202;
North
Fork Bridge, near North Bend – One lane of the North Fork Bridge on 428 th
Avenue Southeast over the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River will reopen at 6
a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3. The two-lane bridge has been closed since July 7 for
a major seismic upgrade. Final completion of the project is not expected until
later in September;
West Snoqualmie Valley Road, east of Carnation – The road continues to be
closed between Ames Lake-Carnation Road and Northeast 80th Street for
a culvert replacement project through Sept. 22;;
Newaukum Bridge, north of Enumclaw – The bridge continues to be closed for repairs
through Sunday, Sept. 7;
SW 216th Street, Vashon Island – A four-block stretch of Southwest 216th
Street on Vashon Island will be closed until 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. During the
closure, crews have been replacing a culvert under the roadway. Motorists can
detour via Southwest 204th Street;
Skykomish
River Bridge near the Money Creek Campground, west of the town of
Skykomish, will be closed through late September;
Dockton Road Southwest on Vashon Island — Closed through September, while crews rebuild the seawall;
Southeast 248th Street, east of Lake Wilderness — Closed through
September 12 to replace the Cedar River Trail trestle over the roadway and the wooden culvert underneath the street;
Preston Bridge — Southeast 82nd Street over the Raging River is closed through October.
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VIDEO REPORTS
DOT Dash