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2007 in review for King County DOT

During the past 12 months, the King County Department of Transportation (KCDOT) and its four divisions have focused on a wide variety of projects and programs to support the transportation network here in King County and across the region.

The key to 2007 was “variety.” KCDOT kept Metro buses rolling, planes flying in and out of Boeing Field, provided roads and bridges for unincorporated areas, and maintained all county vehicles through the Fleet Administration Division. But, staffers also worked “outside the box” in the forefront of regional planning and innovative efforts to offer cleaner-and-greener ways to travel.

Here’s a month-to-month look at some of the highlights for KCDOT in 2007:

January – A year ago, King County was among the first to envision how Seattle and region could best cope with the reconstruction of the Alaska Way Viaduct. Metro produced a list of 49 transit-related actions that when combined with new investments in transit service and the arrival of Link light rail, could be instrumental in mitigating the traffic impacts of viaduct work.

Since that time, KCDOT staff has continued to work with the city, the state, and business and community groups to develop a recommendation for replacing the viaduct along Seattle’s central waterfront.

February – Within three months of voters approving the Transit Now initiative in November 2006, Metro had rolled out the first new transit service funded by the sale-tax increase.

It kicked off with 14,700 hours of more bus service last February, including additions to routes 8, 44, 101, 120, 140, 194, 234, 245 and 271. Then in June, more Transit Now service was added to three routes in South King County, and in September service increased on routes 25, 75, 234 and 269. Also, as a part of Transit Now, Metro entered into and planned new partnerships to provide targeted service to employers such as Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, and local cities.

March – In March, KCDOT and its partners began planning on how to make Southwest 98th Street more inviting for pedestrians and bicycles between the White Center business district and the new Greenbridge housing area. Work on this first HealthScape pilot project continued through the year.

HealthScape is King County’s effort to promote public health and reduce carbon emissions by improving how communities are built to reduce dependency on cars and increase opportunities for people to be physically active. The county is developing a transportation and a land use tool that will help communities set priorities to promote individual health, reduce global warming, and evaluate service equity.

April – King County Executive Ron Sims made a big announcement about fueling Metro buses and other county vehicles with Washington-grown biodiesel. The biodiesel, made from canola grown on Yakima County farms and fertilized with biosolids from King County's two wastewater treatment plants, helped power Metro Transit buses throughout most of 2007.

May – The King County Road Services Division’s construction year kicked off in the spring with groundbreaking for the new Mt. Si Bridge near North Bend. The $21.5 million project replaces the 93-year-old Mt. Si Bridge, and should be completed in the fall of 2008. It was one of several projects begun in 2007 to improve the road network throughout unincorporated King County.

June – In June, Sims announced a transit service plan to link some of the Eastside's fastest growing neighborhoods and job services. It was designed with the goal of providing service that will increase ridership and better match current travel patterns. Later in the year, the Metropolitan King County Council approved the plan, and much of it will go into effect in February 2008.

July – The South Park Bridge underwent more maintenance work last summer, verifying that the veteran span over the Duwamish River needs to be replaced. Studies of the South Park Bridge show the condition of the 76-year-old span is severely deteriorated and was made worse during the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake.

In recent years, the aging bridge has been difficult to operate due to long-term movement of the drawbridge piers. July’s work was the sixth alignment repair to the moveable spans since the 2001 earthquake. The piers have continued to move, and repairs are urgently needed before any further misalignment impacts bridge operation. King County is proceeding with design of a new parallel drawbridge, and continuing to look for project funding.

August – The entire region worked together last August to anticipate how to move people and goods around a major closure of Interstate 5 in Seattle. Transportation agencies and residents did such a good job of finding alternatives that – for the most part – the predicted huge traffic backups never occurred.

Also in August, came news that King County and other partners involved in the Urban Partnership on Lake Washington – the project involving the State Route 520 Bridge – received a federal award to work on solving congestion in that corridor through an integrated approach of tolling with variable prices based on demand and increased transit service to get more single-occupant vehicles off the road.

September – King County was the center of the green transportation world in September, when a broad coalition of 20 cities, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, and the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition committed to work with King County to pioneer a series of green fleet standards. This milestone came during the first-ever “Clean Vehicles NOW!” conference, which was spearheaded by KCDOT’s Fleet Administration Division.

Also in September, Metro’s Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel reopened after a two-year retrofit by Sound Transit. By the end of 2009, the tunnel will be accommodating both buses and light rail trains.

October – In October, the King County International Airport at Boeing Field launched its noise insulation program. As an effort to be a good neighbor, staff reached out to residents around the airport to offer help to make their homes quieter. It is one of several measures, the airport has worked on over the past decade to reduce noise impacts.

November – Although the weather was deceptively mild for a Northwest November, staff from the Roads Services Division and Metro Transit were more than ready for the first high waters and snowflakes. KCDOT spent much of 2007 working on a new coordinated effort to keep people moving during the worst winter storms.

Not only is storm response better synched between the department’s roads and transit divisions; but also between the county, the state, local cities, and public utilities. The new plans would come in handy the following month.

December – The month kicked off with the first lowland snow of the season and torrential rainfall. Several days after the one-two winter punch, Road Division crews were still working around-the-clock on repairs. The heavy rain left mudslides, sinkholes, and flooded roadways in its wake. Estimates indicate costs may rise to as much as $12. 5 million by the time permanent repairs are made.

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Updated: January 02, 2008

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