Seattle Department of Transportation paving crews will be making driving on Beach Drive s.w. much more pleasant next week. The washboard effect of the road goes back a long time and is caused by water runoff and the freezing and thawing over time.

Crews plan to grind and pave the roadway from Atlas Place s.w. to s.w. Juneau Street on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 18 and 19 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, if weather permits.

During the work all sidewalks and crossings will remain open. You can still get through since a single travel lane will be shared by both directions of traffic. Flaggers will be assisting drivers through the area.

Earlier this year SDOT crews repaved an area of Beach Drive to the south of the current area. The section of Beach Drive between the two repaved areas will be repaved once work is completed to stabilize the slope.

The current work on Beach Drive SW is part of the annual paving program funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters in 2006.