The Seattle Department of Transportation and King County Metro are partnering together to bring RapidRide to Madison St

The Madison St project area is busy, dense, and still growing. We're making street improvements to Madison and Spring streets that will allow King County Metro to operate frequent and reliable RapidRide G bus service from Downtown to Madison Valley. 

Construction for the project is 50% complete!

We're working to make progress on construction as safely and efficiently as possible. Typical work hours are between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. We have obtained a noise variance to complete construction activities within allowable noise limits for work outside of these hours.

Click here to watch a short video about the project!

Events

The project outreach team will be at events throughout the summer to connect with people and talk about the project. Here’s a list of events where you can find us. We’ll continue to add to this list as other events are scheduled. We hope you stop by!

We’re joining King County Metro at outreach events for the Madison Street Area Bus Service Change Project. Metro wants your feedback on future bus route changes in the Madison Street area and is conducting a survey through May 8. Visit Metro’s webpage to take the survey and find a list of upcoming events. SDOT staff will be at the following Metro events:

• April 28, from 6 -7:30 PM Open House at Yesler Community Center (917 E Yesler Way)

Temporary First Hill Streetcar Service Change

Starting tonight, Friday April 21 at 10 PM, the First Hill Streetcar will be running a partial service from 14th Ave and Washington St in Central District to Occidental Mall in Pioneer Square. This partial service is expected to last until 3 PM on Sunday, April 23. No streetcar service will be provided north of Washington St during this time. Sign up for Metro Transit Alerts for the most up-to-date information about this closure. 

King County Metro is exploring changes to bus routes and stops in the Madison Street area, including changes to bus routes 10, 11, 12, and 47. These changes will support King County Metro’s new RapidRide G Line, which is planned to begin in 2024 and will bring more frequent and reliable bus service between Madison Valley and Downtown Seattle. Metro wants to hear from you about these proposed changes. Visit their webpage to take their survey and learn about upcoming events to share your feedback. The survey goes through May 8.  

Help Metro plan bus service changes in Capitol Hill, Central District, First Hill, and Madison Valley by clicking below.

Take the Survey

Continued eastbound and westbound closures of E Madison St in Capitol Hill

Westbound E Madison St is detoured onto Pine St at 16th Ave through April 26

Westbound E Madison St remains closed between 16th and 14th Avenues. Traffic is detoured off of Madison St at 16th Ave onto Pine St, and returns to E Madison St via 14th Ave (see map below). The contractor needs to detour westbound traffic to safely remove parts of an old cable car located under the road. This closure is expected to be in place until April 26.

(Above) Westbound Madison St is closed between 14th and 16th Avenues. Traffic is detoured onto Pine St at 16th Ave, and returns to Madison St at 14th Ave.

Eastbound E Madison St is closed between 12th and 14th Avenues through the spring

Eastbound traffic on E Madison St between 12th and 14th Avenues will continue to be detoured through the spring. Eastbound traffic is detoured to E Union St and 19th Ave (see map below).  

(Above) Eastbound E Madison St is closed between 12th and 19th Avenues. Eastbound traffic is detoured onto East Union St at 12th Avenue, before turning left at 19th Avenue and rejoining Madison St.

Work Areas

(Above) Map of the project area showing active work zones and bus stop closures/relocations. Please visit King County Metro's Transit Alert page for more information.

King County Metro bus stop closures or relocations

As construction activities continue, bus stops on the project corridor will temporarily close or relocate as needed. The map above shows known bus stop closures at this time. Bus stop closures and relocations change frequently. Please visit King County Metro's Transit Alert page for the most accurate and up to date information, and to sign up for alerts.

Transit Alerts

Detours and lane reductions

To make space for construction and to keep people traveling safe, we regularly install short and long-term road closures and detours.

Partial and short-term closures:

• Westbound Madison St between 16th and 14th Avenues is closed. See detour map above.
• Eastbound Madison St between 12th and 15th Avenues is closed. See detour map above.

• The south side of the intersection of 12th Ave and E Madison St will be closed the weekends of April 22 and April 29. Madison St will remain open during the upcoming closures. Drivers will not be able to access southbound 12th Ave from Madison St. People driving north on 12th Ave will not be able to access E Madison St. There will be a signed detour (see map below). The closure is expected to begin by 7 PM on Friday each weekend.

(Above) The south side of the intersection of Madison St and 12th Ave will be closed. Northbound is detoured to 14th Ave, and southbound is detoured to Broadway.

Full closures:

• North side of intersection of Madison St and Minor Ave.
• Union St between 11th and 12th Avenues
• South side of 25th Ave south of Madison St. 

Traffic reduced to one lane:

• On Spring St:
  • Between 2nd and 4th Avenues
  • Between 6th and 7th Avenues
• On Madison St:
  • Between 3rd and 6th Avenues
  • Between 7th and Boren Avenues
  • Between Broadway and 15th Ave
  • Between 23rd Ave and Martin Luther King Jr Way
• On 1st Ave:
  • Southbound 1st Ave during non-peak hours between Spring and Marion streets.

Sidewalk/Crosswalk closures and pedestrian detours:

We're working to keep sidewalks and crosswalks open as much as possible. People will notice barriers placed in the street that provide temporary walkways for pedestrians to move around construction areas. If a sidewalk or crosswalk is signed as closed, people should either follow the signed detour or the temporary walkway if one is provided. People should not walk in the road with traffic. Maps are available on our webpage that show areas where sidewalks and crosswalks are closed. The maps are updated regularly but may not always reflect the latest conditions. Please follow all signed closures and detours.

People walking in temporary walkway on Madison St in downtown.

What to Expect in Your Area

Construction schedules are subject to change. Expect daytime work from 7 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday with some night and weekend work. Follow posted signs and detours for safe access through construction zones.

Pole Installations

Over the next few weeks, we expect to receive 100 utility poles. The poles will be temporarily stored at various locations within the project area while we work to install them. The poles will be future traffic signals and street lights.

Downtown (1st Ave to 7th Ave): April 21 - May 8

• Work on the north side of Madison St between 3rd and 4th Avenues is ongoing and is scheduled to continue into the week of May 1. 
• Sidewalk work in the northwest corner of Spring St and 3rd Ave is ongoing and is scheduled to continue through the week of May 1. Sidewalk work in the southwest corner of the intersection of Madison St and 1st Ave is scheduled for next week. Sidewalk work in the northwest corner of the intersection of Madison St and 6th Ave is scheduled to begin the week of May 1 and continue into the week of May 8.
• Weekend work in the intersection of Spring St and 1st Ave is scheduled for the weekend of May 6, and is expected to last for two weekends after that. The crosswalk on the north side of the intersection will be closed during this work.

First Hill (7th Ave to Broadway): April 21 - May 8

• Work at the intersection of Madison St and 7th Ave is scheduled to begin the week of May 1 and continue through the week of May 8. 
• Sidewalk work is ongoing at the following locations:
  
  • The northeast corner of the intersection of Madison St and 7th Ave into next week.
  • The north side of the intersection of Madison St and 8th Ave into the week of May 8.
  • The northeast corner of the intersection of Madison St and Terry Ave into next week.
• Sidewalk work in the southeast corner of the intersection of Madison St and 9th Ave is scheduled to begin next week and continue into the week of May 8. Sidewalk work in the southwest corner of the intersection of Madison St and Terry Ave is scheduled to begin next week and continue into the week of May 8.
• Eastbound drivers on Madison St are not able to turn left on to northbound Broadway and westbound drivers on E Madison St cannot turn left on to southbound Broadway. Both turning restrictions are expected to be in place through early May. These turning restrictions are needed to complete road paving and utility relocations on Madison St between Summit Ave to 12th Ave. Drivers should take alternative routes.

Capitol Hill (Broadway to 23rd Ave): April 21 - May 8

• Work on 10th Ave between E Union and E Madison streets is expected to begin the week of May 1 to install a new underground stormwater storage tank. 10th Ave between E Union and E Madison streets will be closed during this work. Seneca St will be local access only. Sidewalks will remain open, and we will maintain pedestrian access to businesses and residences. This work is expected to last at least two months.
• Work on the north side of Madison St between 12th and 13th Avenues is scheduled to begin the week of May 1 and continue through the week of May 8.
• Sidewalk work is ongoing at the following locations:
  
  • On the south side of Madison St between 20th Ave and Denny Way into the week of May 8.
  • On the south side of Madison St between Denny Way and 23rd Ave into the week of May 1.
• Sidewalk work in the northwest corner of the intersection of Madison St and 12th Ave and in the northeast corner of the intersection of Madison St and 11th Ave is scheduled to begin the week of May 1 and continue into the week of May 8.
• Weekend work is scheduled for this weekend and next weekend at the intersection of Madison St and 12th Ave. The south side of the intersection will be closed at 12^th Ave. People driving on E Madison St will not be able to turn south onto 12^th Ave, and people driving north on 12^th Ave will not be able to access E Madison St during the closure. The closure is expected to last from tonight, Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23. Night work is expected on Friday only. 

Madison Valley (23rd Ave to MLK Jr Way): April 21 - May 8

• Watermain work on Martin Luther King Jr Way, E Arthur Place and E Harrison St is ongoing. This work requires temporary planned outages, and properties with utility impacts will be notified.* 
• Work on the south side of Madison St between 25th and 26th Avenues is scheduled to resume next week and continue into the week of May 1.
• Sidewalk work is ongoing on the north side of E Madison St between 23rd Ave E and E John St. A protected walkway will be provided along the work zone with access to businesses.  
• Night work on the north side of Madison St between 23rd Ave and John St is scheduled for the night of May 5.
• Work at the intersection of MLK Jr Way and E Arthur Place is scheduled to begin next week and is expected to continue through May. 

* For any water related emergencies, please call Seattle Public Utilities' 24/7 Operations Response Center at 206-386-1800. For questions about water outages, visit SPU's Water Outage Map. For questions about how to prepare for a water outage, what to expect, or temporary discolored water after an outage, please visit SPU's Planning for Outages website. If you have questions or concerns about your water service before, during, or after an outage, please call SPU's 24/7 Operations Response Center at 206-386-1800.

Check out our blog!

Read our latest blog post to learn about project progress, major milestones, and to see what we've accomplished so far!

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Thanks for your patience during construction! If you have concerns about accessibility or other issues with construction, please send us your address, contact information, and concerns so we can better understand and work together throughout construction. You can complete our construction survey in English, Chinese (traditional), Korean, or Vietnamese or you can reach us at MadisonBRT@Seattle.gov or call (206) 484-2780. Want to learn more about the project?  Visit our website to see what Madison St will look like once the project is complete. Please share these weekly updates with others who may be interested and encourage people to subscribe on our webpage. If you would prefer not to receive future email updates, or if this email was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe, click on the links below to manage your email preferences. Thank you! Candace Goodrich – RapidRide G Line Outreach Lead MadisonBRT@Seattle.gov (206) 484-2780 seattle.gov/MadisonBusRapidTransit   Text “MADISON” to 33222 to sign up for project alerts via text

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