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(Image: SDOT)

One major reason construction of the Madison RapidRide G bus line will take years not months is the heavy load of utility and infrastructure work the city has piled on to the project. The latest extra digging accompanying the transit project is taking place on Capitol Hill’s 10th Ave E where a stretch of the street will be closed for two months for the installation of a massive stormwater tank system to capture runoff.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says a short stretch of 10th between Union and Madison was closed for two months starting Monday for the project where crews will dig a trench in the street and install piping to build the stormwater tank in sections. Once sections of the tank are installed, the trench will be filled with dirt and the next segment’s work will begin. Water testing of the tank will follow and then the street must be repaved. Work crews will first remove the remaining street surface and then grade the entire area and repave it, SDOT says.

The new storage tanks are designed to be able to hold up to nearly 57,000 gallons of water when needed.

“When complete, the new tank will collect stormwater from the street and slowly release it back into the sewer system,” the announcement reads. “In this area, there is a combined sewer for both stormwater and sanitary waste. Sewer water is cleaned at treatment plants before it flows back into local waterways and Puget Sound.”

SDOT says this is the third stormwater tank added to the area under the RapidRide project. The other two are already in place under E Pine between 15th and 16th and underneath E Madison between 12th and 13th.

CHS reported here on the multiyear challenge construction of the upgraded bus line and piggybacked infrastructure has been for nearby businesses and residents. SDOT says the utility work is much needed.

“When we complete a major rebuild of a street to improve transit connectivity, we also want to make sure utilities like underground water lines and storage tanks are improved,” SDOT says about the stormwater tank work. “This is a coordinated One Seattle approach to best serve the public, alongside our partners at Seattle Public Utilities and other City departments.”

The three-year, $134 million SDOT-managed project has grown into a complete overhaul with everything from the city’s sidewalks and intersections to its water and sewer mains being ripped up and replaced along the 2.4-mile route as the system prepares for a 2024 start of service. Along the way, the construction schedule will shift the most intensive work up and down the corridor to hopefully give areas a break. When it finally debuts, along with what is hoped to be faster, more efficient bus service, the route will also have new curb ramps, sidewalks, and crossing improvements.

CHS reported here in March as construction on the project reached the halfway mark.

Meanwhile, Metro is making plans for changes to nearby bus lines to better coordinate with the start of the RapidRide G line next year.

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