PUBLISHER

After a three-day delay due to rain, paving on First Avenue South began at 160th Street on Friday, Aug. 21. The paving-part of a major improvement project of First Avenue South from 160th Street to 146th Street-signals the beginning of the end of construction.

All of the paving was done at night between 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. During the work, traffic slowed to a crawl along First Avenue South, with flaggers and police out directing traffic. Whenever entrances to businesses along First Avenue were blocked, signs were posted indicating detours.

As of the press deadline on Aug. 26, only three days had provided weather good enough for construction crews to pave. Burien Public Works Director Stephen Clark said that, weather permitting, he hoped the paving would be completed by this week.

"(Crews) are ready to pave when they can, to get this done as quickly as they can," Clark said. "We are only planning on doing this overlay on First Avenue once, and we want to do it right."

The paving was part of a $26.2 million city of Burien project to improve First Avenue. Improvements included replacing overhead utilities underground, adding new turn lanes at 148th Street and 160th Street, and installing new traffic signals and sidewalks. Work was also done on the Ambaum pond and the Ambaum sub-basin next to First Avenue as a part of the project.

Frank Coluccio Construction of Seattle was awarded the contract for the project.

New street lights and some sidewalks will be installed over the next few months after Seattle City Light finishes moving overhead wires underground. Street lamp posts are in place but cannot be wired until City Light completes the conversion and takes down the poles that supported the wires, Clark said. Some of the City Light poles have already been removed. Sidewalks cannot be poured until the street lamps are wired. Clark said, depending on Seattle City Light, he anticipates that part of the work will be completed by December.

Clark noted that running utilities underground serves several purposes. It is more aesthetically pleasing and safer than power poles, which can pose as an obstacle to drivers. The utilities are also less susceptible to the weather, which can interfere with their operation.

The repaving and improvements from 160th Street to 146th Street is the first phase of construction planned for First Avenue South. A second phase of construction would look at improving First Avenue South from 146th Street to 140th Street. Project design would begin sometime this year, but Clark said that construction would not start until 2010. Clark indicated that the second phase would be a simpler project in scope and scale.