Ship Canal Water Quality project update 4/29/21

City of Seattle, Washington sent this bulletin at 04/29/2021 05:26 PM PDT

Seattle Public Utilities and King County logos - white

MudHoney, our 18-ft storage tunnel boring machine, sitting above the Ballard shaft waiting to be lowered.

MudHoney is getting ready to dig!

Over the past couple of weeks, our crews have worked to lower MudHoney, our 18-ft diameter storage tunnel boring machine, into the shaft in Ballard, where its tunneling journey will begin later this summer.

Check out our new video, showing what it takes to lower MudHoney into the tunnel shaft in different pieces. Each piece can weigh between 25 and 150 tons!

To learn more about the project, visit our project website.

Have you taken a look at our Flickr albums lately? We’ve posted some recent construction activity photos, and ones of the band, Mudhoney’s visit with our tunnel boring machine MudHoney.

Ballard

Crews are wrapping up MudHoney’s assembly, which is at the bottom of the shaft, and are preparing the shaft and site for this summer’s tunneling operations. During this time, you can expect:

More heavy equipment, such as cranes, to arrive on site potentially at night.
Truck deliveries of paving material, concrete, and equipment for MudHoney and associated tunnel activities. Some of these deliveries may take place overnight.

Currently working hours are expected to be Monday through Friday, 7 am to 5 pm. We anticipate working weekends and/or extended shifts over the next few months to prepare for tunneling.

East Ballard

Crews continue ground improvement work in NW 45th St. During this time, you should anticipate:

NW 45thSt closed to traffic; vehicles must detour onto NW 46th.
Burke-Gilman Trail users remain detoured to the north side of NW 45th St; flaggers to help direct traffic during daytime working hours. Please follow all detour guidance on site. For safety, bicyclists should either dismount or cross train tracks at a 90-degree angle. Please use extra caution in wet weather as ramps and tracks may be slippery.
Both lanes of 11thAve NW south of NW 45th St are now open and will remain open for approximately another month.
Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site.

Regular work hours will be Monday through Friday, 7 am to 5 pm. Night and weekend work may occur to maintain progress.

Excavation for pipe and structure work in 11th Ave NW will start this summer after the ground improvement work is complete.

See anticipated traffic impacts through 2021 on our website.

Fremont

Over the next few weeks, crews will continue utility work in NW 36th St and prepare the site for the equipment required to support the 8-ft conveyance tunnel boring machine. You should anticipate:

Dump trucks and excavators working on site and an uptick in traffic in Leary Way NW as trucks haul away excavated material and bring concrete to the site.
NW 36th St between Leary Way NW and 3rd Ave NW closed (through remainder of the project).
Pedestrians detoured to the north side of Leary Way NW.
Generators running constantly to power the dewatering pumps until permanent power is available on site.
Starting mid-May, 2nd Ave NW, between Leary Way NW and NW Canal St, will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic to conduct sewer and diversion structure work. This closure is anticipated to last through the end of the year.
Later this summer, crews will be installing a new water main in Leary Way NW. This part of the work will not require lane closures on Leary Way NW, though there will be traffic impacts later this year. If you live near the site, there may be a short, temporary water shut off. If your service will be impacted, you'll receive a door hanger with more information.

Regular work hours will be Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm. Night and weekend work may occur to maintain progress.

Wallingford

Crews started excavation of the 38-ft diameter, approximately 80-ft deep shaft this week. The excavation will take several weeks.

During this work you should anticipate:

Noise from intermittent demolition work, including jackhammering.
Heavy equipment on site and trucks coming in and out of the site to haul away excavated material.
Nighttime deliveries to the site to prepare for construction of the shaft

Normal work hours are Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm.

Queen Anne

This site will continue to be relatively quiet over the next few weeks. Crews returned this week to begin work on the shaft lining wall. During construction of the lining walls, you should anticipate:

Trucks coming in and out of the site to deliver rebar and formwork.
Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site.
The West Ewing Mini Park parking lot remains closed. This closure is anticipated to last through mid-2023.
A localized Ship Canal Trail detour through summer 2022 (see map).