Floating Bridge Replacement
Last Wednesday, Marilyn Yim (Project Manager) and Wren McNally (Outreach Manager) met with the FHA Board to outline plans and implications for the upcoming replacement of the Fairview Ave N Floating Bridge. I have uploaded a copy of their presentation to the FHA website here. You can scroll through the presentation by clicking on the arrows a the bottom of the image, or you can download the whole thing. One slide that is out of date is Slide #4. Due to some changes beyond their control they were forced to go back out to tender which has delayed everything a bit. Additional information the team shared in conversation with the board included discussion of the steps they will be taking to minimize environmental issues by using turbidity curtains. They also explained that they will minimize noise and night work by drilling shafts rather than using a pile driver. A lot of the discussion focused on alternate routes for local traffic through Fred Hutch. Marilyn committed to keeping us up to date with developments. If you have specific questions you can reach the project team at FairviewBridge@seattle.gov and you can view their web page here.
Lake Elevation Levels - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials will begin Lake Washington's annual summer refill operations February 15, 2019.
Vessel owners should closely monitor lake elevations and adjust mooring lines as necessary. Water managers are targeting a typical annual refill of the lake to elevation 22 feet this spring. Fill rates and target elevations vary through May based on conditions. Refilling the lake to 22 feet will help meet increased summer water use, providing water necessary for fish passage, navigation and salinity control. Private and commercial maritime interests along Lake Washington Ship Canal and in Lakes Washington and Union should expect a gradual rise from the winter level of 20 feet until the 22-foot target refill elevation is reached around June 1.
The official lake level is measured at the Locks. The 22-foot target elevation is referenced to the local project datum, equivalent to 18.75 feet referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Lake Washington and Lake Union levels may vary due to natural gradient between the lake and the locks, or wind that can push the lake levels up for short durations. Depending on conditions, the lake may remain at the maximum target elevation through June and July. For more information about activities at the Locks, visit the Locks' Web site at http://bit.ly/BallardLocks. Also follow the Locks on Facebook www.facebook.com/ChittendenLocks and Twitter, www.twitter.com/ChittendenLocks. You can contact Bill Dowell - (206) 764-3464 - william.r.dowell@usace.army.mil
Aurora Bridge Latest - From Tom Pearce, WSDOT Communications
Our contractor crews are continuing with preparations to resume painting and repairs on the Aurora Bridge. Liberty is rigging its containment system to paint the northern half of the bridge. This will involve night work the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 1 as crews put up metal plates, particularly over the Burke-Gilman Trail and North Northlake Way. This will create some nighttime noise, so we hope it isn’t too inconvenient.
Liberty also still is planning to move the dust collector to the north side of the bridge in a couple weeks. Combined will be back on site Monday, Jan. 28, to resume rivet busting and some metal replacement on the bridge. This means a return of that rattling noise, but this work only will take place during the day.
Project schedule - Got a question last week about if the project still is on schedule. I’m happy to report it is. We expect to finish the painting by early summer. Later in the summer, we still need to repave the bridge deck. This work will likely occur between July and September. Our contractor crews will grind off the old asphalt, make any needed repairs to the bridge deck, the pave back with new asphalt.
Paving the bridge - Much of the paving work will take place during up to seven weekend-long lane reductions on the bridge. We plan to keep a lane open in each direction during these weekends, but traffic will be heavier and people may come through Fremont to avoid the bridge. As we get closer to this part of the project, I’ll have more details to share.
Tom Pearce, PearceT@wsdot.wa.gov or 206-440-4696
That's all for now,
All the best,
Sarah
|
|
|
|
