Skateboarders and cyclists will continue to rule Interlaken Drive this summer as SDOT conducts a geotechnical study that will not be completed until September. Until then, the damaged road will remain off-limits to motor vehicles, according to Rick Sheridan at SDOT:
Since the closure, Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities have been working together on the best solution for ensuring visitors and residents can move around safely, and protecting the city’s infrastructure. That portion of Interlaken was closed to cars due to slide/erosion activity that caused soil to settle underneath part of the roadway.
The city has initiated a geotechnical study that will identify underlying geological conditions and help us determine ways to resolve the problem. We need to complete that analysis before we can consider reopening the road or proceed with any other course of action. We expect to have information from the analysis and more detailed options defined by September 2011.
We are sending out a mailing to nearby properties to alert them to the geotechnical study and our current timeline, while also providing them contacts in each of the involved departments. Residents should see those letters within the next week or so.
As we reported in March when the road closed, water flowing underneath the roadway washed away the foundational soil that kept the road structural. Cracks several inches in width appeared overnight, and the roadway was closed that day. Though the cracks have been patched with asphalt, the roadway remains closed until SDOT knows more.
Photo of cracks before patching, courtesy of the Parks Department
Based on this reporter’s observations as someone who has regularly ridden a bicycle on the road both before and after the closure, the number of people strolling, walking pets and riding longboards on the closed stretch seems to have increased. Though I never witnessed any conflicts between road users on this roadway, more people walk in the middle of the street rather than along the edge since the road became off-limits to motor vehicles. More dog owners seem confident enough to let their pets off-leash, and the number of people riding bicycles and jogging on the road has definitely gone up.
While no definitive statistics are available, CHS also isn’t aware of any increases in emergency calls to the area. So, yes, wear your helmets and keep that trend going.
Motorcycle users seem to be conflicted about what to do with the closure. One woman out on a joyride stopped me near the lower road closure sign and asked, “So, how closed is it?” I said, “Well, it’s pretty closed.” I think she turned around, but I’m not sure.
