Sarah Lemmon September 19, 2018 8:47am

courtesy of WSDOT

Did you get a letter in the mail about the nighttime construction work planned on SR99? We recently did and we had a lot of questions.

But first, some background: If you haven’t heard, SR 99- Aurora Avenue – hasn’t been paved since 1999, so this year it is getting repaved and updated to be ADA compliant -ie with safer crossings. Earlier this month, contractors began work to grind and replace 7.5 miles in both directions starting from south Queen Anne at Roy Street to Shoreline – North 145th Street. Contractor crews are working between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on curb ramps and installing temporary signal detection systems, but some work has to be done at night to avoid major traffic delays. The work is expected to be completed in 2019.

So how does this affect Green Lake? We asked WSDOT’s Tom Pearce for more info.

What times will the work be done every night?
“Night work will occur between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.”

Any estimate on when the Green Lake work will be finished? 
“We don’t have an estimate when work will be complete in the Green Lake area. However, I can tell you we have nighttime work scheduled between 50th and 67th this week and next week. Our contractors are working in segments and it takes a couple/few weeks to do each segment.

We’re approaching the end of the construction season, because once the cooler temperatures and rain return we can’t pave asphalt. If work is not completed in the Green Lake area this fall, crews will return next year to finish.”

Anything else you’d like to add for Green Lake residents?

“We need to work at night on this section of SR 99 because about 35,000 cars use this section each day, most of those during daytime hours. Paving during the day would force these cars to find alternative routes, creating a lot of disruption on surrounding roads and neighborhoods. We can keep a lane or two open during night work, which is enough to handle nighttime traffic.

During this project we will leave at least one lane open in each direction at all times.”

So hold on Greenlakers, it may get a bit noisy for a few weeks. The construction will involve heavy equipment, jack hammers, paving machines, generators and asphalt grinders. If you have concerns, or want a set of free earplugs (we are serious!) contact the noise hotline 1-888-808-4DOT.

For more information on this project, go to WSDOT’s website.