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April 20th Deadline for Public Comments to 520 Construction Noise Variance

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noise featuredTomorrow, April 20th is the deadline to submit your response to WSDOT’s application for a Noise Variance during construction (click to review application).  A few highlights requested in the application:

  • The right to do construction at higher noise levels 24 hours a day, for the next 7 years, the full scope of the 520 construction.
  • City of Seattle’s current limit on nighttime noise is 45 db, WSDOT is requesting 80 db. With decibel scales, this over 15X the current limit.

Many neighbors, including the Montlake Community Club Board, are concerned about this noise variance. As such, the Montlake Community Club has submitted a letter opposing this variance. You may view the Community Club’s response to this variance request HERE or click to view other responses by Laurelhurst, North Capitol Hill, and Senator Jaime Pedersen.

The Montlake Community Club encourages all concerned neighbors to take advantage of the public comment period which ends tomorrow, Thursday, April 20th by sending an email with your comments concerning construction noise and hours of operations here:

If you prefer to view WSDOT’s noise variance docs as PDFs rather than DOCX files, go to this Dropbox folder.

You can see all WSDOT’s material and comments already filed here. (Type in 3027364 for the project number)

 

What Was That Noise? WABN Construction Schedule

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montlake work zoneVia WSDOT – SR 520 Bridge Replacement & HOV Project

Upcoming construction activities in the Montlake Interchange area

Major construction kicks off this month around SR 520’s Montlake Boulevard interchange as part of the West Approach Bridge North Project (WABN). Crews plan to begin a variety of local street improvements, starting with the widening of the eastbound SR 520 ramps to and from Montlake Boulevard during the week of Dec. 15.  Montlake-area improvements are designed to provide additional capacity on 520 ramps and local streets, and safer travel for bicyclists and pedestrians when WABN is complete. As construction plans are finalized and work proceeds in the Montlake area, additional notifications will be sent.

Noisy work expected during the night at SR 520 eastbound ramps

Crews will perform work to widen the ramps between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on the following weeknights:

  • Monday, Dec. 15 – Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014
  • Monday, Dec. 22 – Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014
  • Monday – Thursday nights, Jan. 5 – Jan. 29, 2015

Note: Nighttime activities are not planned between Dec. 24 and Jan. 4.

Work includes site preparation, cutting through the roadway surface and installing drainage to prepare for future intersection modifications.

Crews will close a single lane of each ramp to safely perform their work. At least one lane will remain open in each direction and access will be maintained to the Montlake 76 gas station and other nearby businesses via Montlake Boulevard East.

Crews are performing this work at night in order to avoid disrupting weekday traffic. Nearby residents and businesses may hear noise and feel vibrations from the construction activities. All noisy impact equipment, like jackhammers, will occur before 10 p.m. as required by the city of Seattle temporary noise variance. In accordance with our construction contract and the city of Seattle noise variance, the work will be performed using construction best management practices and sequenced in a way to minimize noise as much as possible.

E LakeSneak peak! Planned daytime work on East Lake Washington Boulevard

Flatiron expects to begin improvements along East Lake Washington Boulevard in the coming weeks. We’ll be sending you further details before the work begins along East Lake Washington Boulevard, but we wanted to give you a sneak preview so you know what to expect.
During construction, drivers can expect temporary lane configurations and on-street parking to be removed so crews have room to complete the street improvements. You may also see crews repairing potholes, pruning and removing trees along East Lake Washington Boulevard, and installing sewer and power utility improvements. Drivers should be on the lookout for “no parking” signs, which will be placed 72 hours in advance of that work starting.

When work is complete, a new roadway configuration will include an additional westbound right-turn lane, a westbound lane that allows vehicles to turn left or continue straight onto eastbound SR 520, and a single eastbound lane on East Lake Washington Boulevard. Crews may take six months or more to complete work and finish the final roadway configuration along East Lake Washington Boulevard.