Tag Archives: roanoke

$1.4B Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project moving forward with order to identify ‘cost reduction opportunities’

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Design concept for a new bridge over Portage Bay

An early rendering of the Roanoke Lid concept

Washington is moving forward with the 520 Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project even as it is still scrambling for the best way to pay for it.

WSDOT announced it awarded a contract for the job to Skanska on March 11th.

CHS reported in November on the $1.375 billion price proposal from Skanska for the contract — a bid 70% higher than the state’s estimate. An agreement with Skanska extended the window to accept the bid, giving Washington legislators “more time to address the funding gap” during its just-wrapped budget process, WSDOT says.

The new plan? Move forward with the $1.375 billion bid but find a way to cut costs and close the gap. WSDOT says legislators have ordered it to seek “cost reduction opportunities.” That could mean new, scaled back designs for the planned lid and new bridge. Continue reading →

WSDOT scrambling over $1.4B bid for 520 Portage Bay Bridge/Roanoke Lid project — 70% higher than expected

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(Image: CHS)

There is a new $1.4 billion price tag — and likely a new timeline — for the work on the westermost section of the 520 replacement project including a new Portage Bay Bridge and a lid connecting the Roanoke neighborhood over the highway.

State officials say the winning best bid from contractor Skanska is about 70% higher than what Washington State Department of Transportation planners were budgeting for and are now asking to extend expiration of the bid to give the legislature to somehow come up with extra hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for the project.

“With the support of the Governor’s office and transportation legislative leadership, we have begun negotiations with Skanska to extend their proposal validity through the end of the 2024 legislative session on March 7 (it was previously set to expire on Nov. 20, 2023),” WSDOT said in a statement on the bid. “We will continue to keep you updated once we have finalized a path forward.” Continue reading →

O Maki Rolls + Teriyaki joining North Capitol Hill cluster of food and drink around The Roanoke

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(Image: O Maki Rolls + Teriyaki)

Delivery and takeout friendly sushi rolls and teriyaki are joining a cluster of North Capitol Hill restaurants.

Plans for a “togo” version of Greenwood-born O Maki Rolls + Teriyaki are taking shape for the 10th Ave E space formerly home to the last Capitol Hill stand of Amante Pizza, the one-time E Olive Way joint notorious for its obnoxiously flashing signage. Continue reading →

Police: Medical emergency led to crash that killed man in street on 10th Ave E

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The King County Medical Examiner has identified the man killed after being hit by a driver along 10th Ave E last week.

Meanwhile, the early investigation of the deadly Wednesday morning incident includes details that a medical emergency is believed to have led to the 9:15 AM crash. Continue reading →

One struck and killed, driver to hospital in 10th Ave E crash

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The 10th Ave E crash scene (Image: CHS)

A person was struck by a driver and killed Wednesday morning along 10th Ave E near the E Newton intersection.

Seattle Fire medic crews and Seattle Police rushed to the scene around 9:15 AM and found a person struck and pinned in the northbound bike lane beneath the red sedan that slammed into a utility pole during the crash.

Crews began life saving measures on the person who was hit and the driver. The pedestrian died at the scene. The driver was transported to the hospital. Continue reading →

Now open on 10th Ave E: Gyro House

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Owner Akram Bouman Ali (Image: Lena Friedman)

Just before COVID-19 restrictions set in, Gyro House moved into a new 10th Ave E location bordering Capitol Hill. The Iraqi-style mediterranean restaurant is now adjusting to business in a new neighborhood and new coronavirus age of serving customers.

Owner Akram Bouman Ali arrived with his family in the United States as Iraqi refugees in 2009 and achieved his dream of starting a restaurant in 2018 when Gyro House opened at its first location on 5th Ave S between downtown and the International District.

“My dad always inspires me — he’s hard of hearing, he has a lot of health issues going on but he never gave up on his dream,” said his daughter Amal Bouman Ali, who helps manage the business. Continue reading →

Street Critic | A visit to Roanoke, an island of North Capitol Hill floating beyond 520

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Stay-in-place has had a tremendous impact on us all, forcing changes in routines that affect travel, employment, recreation, socialization, as well as physical and mental well-being. It does, however, offer us opportunities often overlooked as we tend to our normal lives. One of the best is taking a fresh look at the landscape around us and exploring overlooked places close to home. One such overlooked place for many of us who live on Capitol Hill includes the Roanoke neighborhood. Had Highway 520 not been built this neighborhood would be squarely within neighborhood consciousness.

Having recently walked (again and again) Pike/Pine, Broadway, Volunteer, and Cal Anderson Parks, as well as 12th, 15th, and 19th Avenues, it seemed a good time to head north and reacquaint myself with what lies just beyond 520. Continue reading →

15 years — and $8M or so extra — later, a look at North Capitol Hill’s new Station 22

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Faced with old facilities and the first signs of growth set to transform the city in Seattle’s tech-era boom, voters in 2003 approved the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy and plan to rebuild 32 fire stations in neighborhoods across Seattle. A new Station 22 was forecast to cost $4.85 million under estimated construction costs at the time. 15 years later, the state of the art E Roanoke station hosted neighbors for a Saturday open house and peace pole planting.

Station 22’s final price tag? More than $13 million.

Completed late last year and back in operation since December, the new station Saturday showcased its larger, environmentally friendly facility for neighbors and fire truck aficionados.

The new Station 22 has more than doubled the space of the original, expanding the 1964-built structure from about 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. The two-story station designed by Weinstein A/U has a concrete hose tower, and a brick and glass façade and is designed to be eco-friendly, with a LEED gold certification, including solar panels, an underground stormwater cistern which will provide 100% of the station’s non-drinking water needs, permeable pavers in public areas, and a host of other sustainable features. Continue reading →

Two to hospital after Harvard Ave I-5 onramp head-on

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Two people were taken to Harborview with serious injuries Tuesday morning after a vehicle collided with another head-on near the northbound I-5 onramp from Harvard Ave E.

Seattle Fire and police responded to the crash just before 10:30 AM in the 2700 block of Harvard Ave E just below Roanoke where northbound vehicular traffic must cross two lanes of southbound traffic to enter the freeway.

Seattle Fire reports that both drivers were in stable condition after being rescued from their vehicles and rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Animal control was also called to the scene to assist with a dog in one of the crashed vehicles.

The area was closed to traffic during the response. Metro 49 was rerouted during the crash but back on regular service as of noon. Continue reading →

North Capitol Hill crew moves back in after Fire Station 22 expansion

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(Image: SFD)

Moving day (Image: SFD)

The firefighters of  E Roanoke’s Station 22 are back home this week after a nearly two-year construction project to expand and overhaul the facility.

Crews have been working from a temporary station setup in Eastlake during the demolition and construction project that began in early 2016. Construction had been planned to be wrapped up in summer. The project is part of a 2003 levy vote to fund construction at 32 fire stations around the city, and construct a handful of other facilities. At the time of the vote, construction was anticipated to start in 2007 but the project was delayed for the state’s Route 520 project. At the time of the levy, the anticipated budget for a new Station 22 was $4.8 million. Cost estimates ballooned to $11.7 million. Some of the rise can be attributed to changes in the construction environment from 13 years ago, officials said, including changes to building codes, prevailing wage increases, and inflation. The $11.7 million total price tag also included around $2 million in contingency budget — we’re checking to find out where the final total came in. UPDATE: A department spokesperson tells CHS the final planned budget was $13.352 million but a final official cost isn’t known.

The new station has more than doubled the space of the original, expanding the 1964-built structure from about 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. The new, two-story station has a concrete hose tower, and a brick and glass façade and is designed to be eco-friendly, with a LEED gold certification, including solar panels, an underground stormwater cistern which will provide 100% of the station’s non-drinking water needs, permeable pavers in public areas, and a host of other sustainable features.

The station has been home to a single engine, an officer and three firefighters on duty at any given time, with a total staff of 16 firefighters assigned to the station working in four shifts. SFD says that mix won’t change. The fire house is headquarters for Engine 22 and SFD’s Communications and Command Van.

A community party to celebrate the reopening is being planned for early 2018.