  The completed concrete pour at the Wallingford shaft from Friday’s delivery is shown from an aerial view.
Let there be concrete!
If you follow our Flickr album, you know our crews in Wallingford have been preparing the site with countless forms primed and ready for concrete. These forms included templates for the shaft itself, a headwall, and the tunnel eye, which will be MudHoney’s exit point once we reach the end of our long tunnelling journey from Ballard to Wallingford.
A job this big requires concrete – over 500 cubic yards of it! To maintain its strength, concrete must be poured during one continuous shift. Concrete can’t be delivered from far away, otherwise it’ll lose its integrity during long travel times. For these reasons, concrete must be delivered from local plants, and regional concrete supply issues have made that a logistical challenge – until now.
On Friday, April 29, we received the long-awaited concrete delivery. Crews welcomed concrete from over 50 truckloads during a 14-hour window. Afterward, we celebrated the tiring day with a well-deserved barbeque!
Ballard & MudHoney
MudHoney, our 18-ft diameter tunnel boring machine, is on a maintenance stop and crews are replacing some of the tools in the cutterhead due to wear. During regular tunneling activities, you should anticipate:
- Truck deliveries of concrete segments and MudHoney equipment
- Nighttime segment deliveries and tunnel spoils being hauled off
- Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site
Crews are working 24 hours a day, six days a week and will continue until MudHoney reaches Wallingford in early 2023. Sunday work may also occur.
Ground monitoring is ongoing along the tunnel alignment and is done from both inside MudHoney and on the surface.
East Ballard
Excavation is complete for the underground mechanical and electrical vault on NW 45th St. Crews have been preparing the base for the vault and construction of the reinforced concrete structure will begin soon.
You should anticipate:
- Starting as soon as June, one-lane closure on 11th Ave NW through November 2022. Flaggers will direct northbound and southbound traffic, and additional directional signage will be in place.
- Heavy equipment in the area
- NW 45th St closed to traffic; vehicles must detour onto NW 46th St
- Burke-Gilman Trail users remain detoured to the north side of NW 45th St
- Flaggers will 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 may be slippery.
- Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site
Regular work hours will be Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm. Night and weekend work may occur.
Fremont
Lane reductions on Leary Way NW, between 1st Ave NW and NW 39th St, will be in place through mid-May so crews can conduct utility work on Leary Way NW. Crews will also be working on large eight-foot conveyance tunnel pipes inside the white tents within the site from 7 am to 10 pm on weekdays, and possibly 9 am to 10 pm on weekends, over the next few months.
During this time, you should anticipate:
- Dust and grinding noise
- Lane reductions on Leary Way NW
- Excavators working on-site for utility installation work
- Truck traffic on Leary Way NW as trucks bring and remove materials to and from the site
- NW 36th St between Leary Way NW and 3rd Ave NW closed (through the remainder of the project)
- Pedestrian detours on Leary Way NW; please follow all detour guidance on site
- Generators running during work hours to power equipment
- 2nd Ave NW, between Leary Way NW and NW Canal St, closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic for sewer and diversion structure work at least through the end of 2022
- NW Canal St open to two-way traffic to allow access during this closure. Please do not park at the west end of NW Canal St so two-way traffic may turn around at the closure.
- Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site
Regular work hours will be Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm. Work on the large pipes inside the tents may occur during nights and weekends as described above.
Wallingford
Crews continue working on the Wallingford shaft walls. Another large concrete pour is expected early next month for the upper portion of the shaft walls. This next concrete pour won’t be quite as large as the one we completed on April 29.
During this time, you should anticipate:
- Concrete trucks coming in and out of the site
- Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site
Regular work hours will be Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm.
Queen Anne
Construction of underground vaults is ongoing through the summer. This work will require a slight adjustment to the Ship Canal Trail detour starting later this spring.
During this time, you should anticipate:
- Trucks coming in and out of the site
- Noise and vibrations typical of a construction site
- The West Ewing Mini Park parking lot to remain closed through mid-2023
- A localized Ship Canal Trail detour at least through summer 2023 (see map). The trail will be adjusted north later this year for construction of the third below-grade vault. Details and schedule for intermittent changes to come.
Regular work hours will be Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm. Night and weekend work may occur.
Contact us
Please email SPU_ShipCanalProject@seattle.gov with questions or comments or call our hotline at (206) 701-0233. You can also find information online at spushipcanal.participate.online. To support the community during active tunneling, we have changed our hotline hours to 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
Construction Safety is Everyone's Job
Check out some top safety tips at www.seattle.gov/utilities/constructionsafety
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