When it comes to cutting through traffic to get to your favorite football game, think of Metro Transit as your own personal offensive lineman. Those blue-and-green buses will open up holes in the congestion, escort you through the jam-ups, and get you to the endzone in time for that victory celebration.
Once again this year, Metro is offering special shuttles to the home games for the Seattle Seahawks and University of Washington Huskies, plus service to the Battle-in-Seattle appearance by the Washington State University Cougars. Here's the rundown:
Seattle Seahawks The Hawks have their first home pre-season game this Saturday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. against the Denver Broncos, and return to Qwest Field again on Sept. 2 to face the Minnesota Vikings. There are several regular Metro routes that travel near the stadium; or for only $3 each way use one of the special Seahawk Shuttles.
For the weekend games, the Seahawks and Metro are providing non-stop shuttle service from five area park-and-ride lots to within walking distance of Qwest Field. The service is provided to and from: Northgate Transit Center; South Kirkland Park-and-Ride; Eastgate Park-and-Ride Garage; Kent Park-and-Ride; and the Federal Way Transit Center.
For the two weeknight games this year Thursday, Sept. 2 and Monday, Dec. 6 there will be no pre-game service; use regularly scheduled transit service instead. But, after the games there will be shuttle service from the regular post-game loading sites.
UW Huskies The Huskies make their first home stand on Sunday, Sept. 5 against the always-tough Fresno State Bulldogs. Even though it's on a Sunday, Metro will be providing the same special shuttles that will be offered for the remaining five Saturday home games.
The free game-day shuttles will run between Husky Stadium and: Shoreline P&R; Northgate Transit Center; Kingsgate P&R; Houghton P&R; South Kirkland P&R; Eastgate P&R; South Renton P&R; and the Federal Way Transit Center.
In addition, Husky fans can show their tickets to ride free on any regular Metro route and Sound Transit Route 550 on UW game days.
WSU Cougars The Cougs will face the University of Colorado at Qwest Field on Saturday, Sept. 11. Metro will be providing special service from several outlying park-and-ride lots. The Coug shuttles are still being finalized, so check back on Metro Online in the coming weeks for the specifics.
Metro Online is also the place to go for details on all the football game-day service, and other special service travel options.
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New bus shelters for downtown Seattle
Metro is working with the Seattle Department of Transportation to begin installing approximately 12 new bus shelters in the downtown area, primarily on Second Avenue, Fourth Avenue, and Olive Way.
The changes at downtown Seattle bus stops are in preparation for the temporary closure of the bus tunnel in September 2005. The tunnel will be closed for up to two years, so it can be upgraded and retrofitted for joint use by buses and light rail. All of the retrofit work on the tunnel will take place underground.
Overall, Metro, Sound Transit, the City of Seattle, and Community Transit are making $16 million in downtown street improvements in advance of the tunnel closure to improve the flow of cars and buses in downtown Seattle both during the tunnel retrofit and long after.
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Old Norman Bridge is coming down
Next week, the King County Road Services Division will begin dismantling the old Norman Bridge on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River northeast of North Bend. The project is expected to last up to two months.
The Norman Bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic since 1984, when a new concrete bridge was built. Over the years, the old bridge has continued to decay, and is now in danger of collapsing under its own weight. It poses a significant danger to people who ignore the closure signs and climb fences surrounding the old bridge to access the river.
The county has hired a contractor to carefully remove the bridge and restore the riverbank around the site. During the demolition, the bridge will be wrapped to keep debris from falling into the river. Travel under the bridge on the river will be restricted during the demolition.
The work should not cause major disruptions to vehicle traffic on surrounding streets, and flaggers will be controlling traffic on 428th Avenue Southeast when large trucks are maneuvering in and out of the work area.
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Improving traffic flow near Skyway
The King County Road Services Division and the Seattle Department of Transportation are teaming up to improve traffic flow along Renton Avenue South and Rainier Avenue South in the Skyway area.
The project involves re-striping the roadway for new lane configurations. The first stages begin this week, and the work is expected to last a total of three weeks. When complete, the number of traffic lanes along the corridor will be reduced from four to three, with the middle lane used for vehicles making left turns. The re-striping also will add marked bicycle lanes on each side of the road, but will not eliminate Rainier Avenue South's on-street parking. The plan was worked out after extensive study and consultation with area residents, and included several open house meetings.
King County will be re-striping Renton Avenue South from South 132nd Street to the Seattle city limits, and Rainier Avenue South from the Renton city limits to the Seattle city limits. The city will continue the re-striping work on Rainier Avenue to approximately 57th Avenue South. The project should cause little disruption to traffic. Flaggers will be stationed as needed to keep traffic moving around road crews. The work will also include some traffic signal revisions.
Here is a list of other King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel in the coming weeks:
Southeast 216th Street, near Hobart Southeast 216 th Street will be closed between 253rd Avenue Southeast and 260th Avenue Southeast from Tuesday, Aug. 17 to Friday, Sept. 3 while crews replace a culvert under the roadway. Motorists can detour via 244th Ave Southeast, Southeast 224th Street, and 276th Avenue Southeast.
Maxwell Road Southeast, near Maple Valley Maxwell Road Southeast will be closed in the 20000 block from Tuesday, Aug. 17 through Friday, Sept. 3 while crews replace a culvert under the roadway. There will be local access only during the closure.
Northeast 124th Street, north of Redmond Work continues through October 2004 on Northeast 124th Street between Willows Road and State Route 202. Crews will be working on the reconfiguration of the intersection of Northeast 124th Street and SR 202 throughout August. Expect periodic traffic delays.
Upper Tokul Bridge, near Snoqualmie Traffic will be limited to one lane across the Upper Tokul Bridge on Tokul Road Southeast through most of August, while crews complete a seismic upgrade of the bridge. Motorcyclists should use extreme care in crossing the bridge and its approaches.
204th Place Northeast, east of Redmond 204th Place Northeast will be closed between Redmond-Fall City Road and Northeast 61st Street through late August, while crews replace retaining walls and install guardrails. Motorists should use alternate routes.
Duvall Bridge Crews will be working on a seismic upgrade of the Duvall Bridge on the Woodinville-Duvall Road through September. Most of the work will occur underneath the bridge. Full road or bridge closures are not expected, but flaggers will be controlling truck and equipment traffic.
Northeast 155th Street, east of Woodinville
Northeast 155th Street will be closed until Friday, Sept. 3 between Avondale Road and 188th Avenue Northeast, while crews install a larger culvert under the roadway. Detour via Avondale Road and Northeast 159th Street.
Cherry Creek Bridge, east of Duvall The bridge over Cherry Creek on Kelly Road will be closed through Friday, Aug. 30 for repairs and upgrades. Motorists should detour via Big Rock Road, State Route 203, and Cherry Valley Road.
Wyanco Bridge, east of Auburn The Wynaco Bridge on 168th Way Southeast is closed through September for repairs and upgrades. Motorists should detour to Auburn-Black Diamond Road and Kent-Black Diamond Road.
Edgewick Bridge, east of North Bend - The Edgewick Bridge on 468th Avenue Southeast remains closed, and traffic has been diverted to a temporary one-lane bridge. The project is expected to last through mid-October.
South 277th Street, between Auburn and Kent There will be no lane closures, but motorists may experience periodic traffic disruptions on South 277th Street between the West Valley Highway and 72nd Avenue South through October 2005 as a result of this major reconstruction project.
124th Avenue Northeast, in Kingsgate Work is ongoing for street improvements along 124th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 132nd Street and Northeast 146th Place.
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DOT Dash