Starting in March, the city will repave and repair much of a major route to Seattle Center and points north.

The repaving project will include Denny from First Avenue, Elliott and Western, 15th Avenue to the south end of the Ballard Bridge.

The Seattle Department of Transportation intends to keep all lanes open on the route during rush hours. Grinding off the old asphalt, and laying down the new, will be done mid-day during off-peak hours, or evenings and weekends. Most of the construction will be limited to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

"This will be a minimally disruptive project," said Connie Zimmerman, the project manager with the Department of Transportation. "Basically we're grinding two inches of asphalt off and putting two inches of asphalt back on."

Construction will begin after a two-month competitive bidding process. Advertising for the contract begins next week.

Along with their bids, contractors must submit a traffic control plan, showing their plans for working efficiently with the least disruption to traffic. The Department of Transportation must approve a plan before it awards the contract.

The project is on schedule to begin in March, continuing through October.

The streets which will be repaved are:

- 15th Avenue West; from West Emerson Street to West Galer Street at the Magnolia Bridge;

- Elliott Avenue West, from Galer to Western Avenue West;

- Western, from Elliott to West Denny Way; and

- Denny, the one block from Western to First Avenue North.

"The construction will begin at whichever end is decided by the contractor," Zimmerman said. Construction will likely be started at several places on the route.

The repaving is part of the Arterial Asphalt and Concrete Program, a series of repaving projects slated for Seattle's main streets. The program is partially funded through Bridging the Gap, a trio of monies supplementing the Department of Transportation's budget with $80 million in 2008, specifically adding $2 million to $4 million for repaving. Bridging the Gap is funded by a levy passed by Seattle voters in 2006, a commercial parking tax, and an employee hours tax, with a goal of reducing a backlog of road maintenance.

Construction costs for the repaving from the Ballard Bridge to Denny Way will cost $8.5 million, Zimmerman said.

Replacing the asphalt is not the only part of the project. In places, the subsurface - a foundation of concrete or brick beneath the asphalt - must be repaired. At bus stops, concrete "pads," more durable than asphalt, will be poured for the street surface.

For pedestrians, the Department of Transportation will build new sidewalks, filling in missing segments. The contractor will also install new curb ramps and upgrade old ones.

For bicyclists, the new asphalt will be painted with "sharrows," arrows marking where automobiles and bicycles share a lane. Curb gratings will be replaced with "bicycle friendly" grates which won't trap narrow tires. Traffic signals will include loops for detecting bicycles, as well cars, waiting for a green light.

New trees will be planted along the route by the Department of Transportation's Urban Forestry.

For automobiles, the new layer of asphalt will be safer and quieter to drive on. Traffic flow will be improved by the Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation Systems and Signal Operations.

In 2006, the Seattle Department of Transportation calculated 61,000 vehicles cross the Ballard Bridge, 43,700 drive this stretch of 15th Avenue West, and 48,900 use Elliott Avenue.

For more information, visit www.seattle.gov/transportation/denny_15th_pave.htm.

Matthew G. Miller may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com