Project Update – February 15, 2011

Transit Improvement Project Completed on Rainier Avenue South
New lane markings coming this spring/Other improvements coming to the Rainier Corridor in 2011& 2012

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has now completed the majority of work in the Rainier Avenue Corridor for a project designed to improve transit speed and reliability along Metro Transit’s busiest route, Route #7.

The only remaining work, the restriping of lane lines and crosswalks, will be completed this spring when the weather is warmer and dryer. While the general configuration of lanes will remain the same, minor changes in lane lines will make it easier for buses to move through the corridor as well as increase pedestrian safety and improve safety for parked vehicles.

SDOT’s contractor has completed the following improvements at locations on Rainier Avenue South and on South Jackson Street:

  • Installed concrete bus bulbs (curb and sidewalk extensions) that allow buses to load and unload passengers without having to pull in and out of traffic. The wider sidewalks also provide more room for pedestrians.
  • Improved street lighting and drainage related to the new bus bulbs at several locations.
  • Added curb ramps at several locations along the corridor
  • Removed the traffic island and installed a new traffic signal at the northwest corner of Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King, Junior Way South, opening the new, safer southbound turn lane from Rainier onto Martin Luther King.

These improvements were funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters.

SDOT is planning additional improvements in this corridor during the next two years, such as adding pedestrian traffic signals, providing traffic signal priority for buses, replacing sections of sidewalk along Rainier Avenue South, and re-paving several sections of roadway along Rainier Avenue South.

For more information about the recently completed Transit Priority project, please visit SDOT’s website .

Related Posts