"This looks like another record construction year for the King County Department of Transportation," said County Executive Ron Sims. "Over the past several years, we’ve been able to maximize road dollars by doing business differently. Thanks to funding flexibility – and the great weather we’ve had this summer – we have made significant progress on some major projects for the 2003 construction season."

Managers from the King County Road Services Division say this has been a spring and summer with near-perfect construction conditions. The division is in the midst of delivering more than $90 million worth of road improvements this year, which represents a record for Roads.

This kind of fast-paced construction would not have been possible without a series of reforms set in motion five years ago to bring as much traffic relief as possible to rapidly growing communities in unincorporated King County.

First, a flexible funding strategy was approved to give the Roads Services Division the ability to accelerate projects ready to go, if others were held up due to permitting problems or other reasons. It also allows Roads to make small-scale changes to projects without having to go through an additional approval process, which saves more time and money.

To stretch road dollars even farther, the county received the authority in 2001 to sell up to $120 million in bonds to deal with the backlog of projects waiting to be built. All of the projects receiving bond funding were designed to relieve congestion and expand road capacity. So far, approximately $40 million has been received from bond sales.

For only $3 each way, eliminate driving and parking hassles on trips to and from Seahawks Stadium on special Metro shuttles from five area park-and-ride lots. There is also plenty of regular Metro service near the stadium to accommodate football fans from every corner of King County.

Last week was a big one for the King County International Airport (Boeing Field). The Blue Angels were headquartered at KCIA for Seafair events, and the airport received recognition for its 75^th Anniversary.

During the Blue Angels stay, the pilots met with teenagers enrolled in the Opportunity Skyway program. This is an educational program sponsored by KCIA to interest students in aviation careers. This student visit has become a tradition while the Blue Angels are in Seattle for Seafair and is a highlight of the summer Opportunity Skyway program.

On July 28, the Metropolitan King County Council honored the airport for 75 years of aviation excellence. On hand was special guest Robert W. "Bob" Ellis, who worked at Boeing Field from the 1920s to the 1950s. Mr. Ellis can still remember what it was like flying into newly opened Boeing Field as a Bach tri-motor co-pilot in late 1928. He also remembers the wire fence at the end of the runway with the fragile posts that would fall over if an airplane hit them.

Later on, Mr. Ellis became the main operations person for United Airlines when they were based at Boeing Field. On overcast days, he would have to talk the pilots down through the clouds by radio. He would go outside of the United hanger and listen to the airplane and tell the pilot to turn left or right or whatever. In the summer when Bill Boeing was enjoying his yacht in BC's Gulf Islands, one of Mr. Ellis’ primary jobs was to radio in the closing stock-market prices.

SW 216^th Street, Vashon Island -- A four-block stretch of Southwest 216th Street on Vashon Island will be closed until 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5. During the closure, crews will be replacing a culvert under the roadway. Motorists can detour via Southwest 204th Street;
David Powell Road, near Fall City – This road closure from Southeast 56^th Street to the road’s end is extended through Aug. 15;
Skykomish River Bridge near the Money Creek Campground, west of the town of Skykomish, will be closed from Tuesday, July 15 through late September;
North Fork Bridge on 428th Avenue Southeast, east of North Bend — The bridge will be closed through August for a seismic upgrade;
Sahalee Way Northeast at State Route 202, north of Sammamish — Crews will be working on signal and lane improvements into August; traffic disruptions will be intermittent;
Dockton Road Southwest on Vashon Island — Closed through September, while crews rebuild the seawall;
Southeast 248th Street, east of Lake Wilderness — Closed through August 20 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.