Paving of 40th St. to Finish This Week

For those living near 40th St. the first half of 2020 has seen an increased pace of construction to smooth sidewalks, improve pedestrian crossings and lay new asphalt. Along with those benefits, though, have come some necessary ills: noise, dust, traffic delays and detours for pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicles alike. (Residents up near 50th St. have already endured a far longer period of the same. That work is now complete.)

But the end is now in sight. We received word from SDOT this week that they intend to finish the paving of 40th from Stone Way to Latona, the last stage in the project, on Monday and Tuesday unless weather or other delays force the work into Wednesday.

Quoting from their email, here’s what we can expect:

• NO access in or out of driveways or parking garages when the road is closed and paving is in process. Asphalt can take up to 6 hours to fully cure; we will re-open driveways as it is safe and feasible.
• We will deliver flyers to notify you before driveway closures
• No parking signs will be in place during this work
• If you need access to your vehicle during this work, please park on side streets
• Emergency access will be maintained at all times during this work
• Pedestrian access to homes and businesses to be maintained at all times
• There may be changes to the King County Metro lines 31 and 32. Please sign up for Metro Rider Alerts for more information. Traffic will be maintained with one rotating lane of traffic 

I’ve been enjoying the smooth sidewalks that have been in place for a month or so now. I can walk along without looking at my feet! The smoother streets will be nice, too. Still waiting for the pedestrian beacon at Bagley near Irwin’s to be activated.