It’s been a while since we wrote about this project, but that certainly doesn’t mean the work has stopped. I was walking along 40th between Meridian and Stone Way last Friday, November 15, and discovered that the sidewalk was gone. There were a few spots with freshly poured cement that were nice and smooth. But most areas had been dug up leaving just dirt to walk on. One very short section was entirely closed off leaving me to walk in the street for a bit.
Motorists need to beware, too. To facilitate the sidewalk work, SDOT has closed 40th to parking in the immediate area of the work. Drivers need to shift to one side or the other of 40th as heavy equipment uses the freed up area to maneuver. See the photo elsewhere on this page.
If SDOT finishes all the sidewalks west of Meridian this week, the sidewalks east of Meridian are slated for some work as well. So expect the inconveniences for drivers and pedestrians to continue. You can follow the project updates here.
The scope is larger on 50th, and started earlier. As you can see from the site linked there have been a lot of lane closure, bus-reroute, and sidewalk closure around the 50th work already for awhile now. Other work further north is starting later.