At our annual meeting on May 14th, SDOT presented some information on their upcoming project to repave N & NW 85th St. from Interstate 5 to 15th Ave NW.
- The project will begin at the western end of 85th this fall. Exact start date is unknown at the moment.
- 85th will be CLOSED in the eastbound direction while work proceeds.
- Westbound traffic will be carried on 85th in the lane not being worked on. But westbound traffic will be restricted to a single lane.
- Eastbound traffic will be detoured. The most likely candidates for detours are NW 80th Street and Holman Road.
- Intersection closures can be expected on weekends.
- Night-time work will include full roadway closures.
- Motorists should plan for additional time for detouring, traffic slowing, and stoppages for construction equipment.
- New concrete pavement will be installed in the most heavily used areas. West of 8th, those are the center lanes, and east of 8th, the right hand lanes. The difference is due to the parking allowed on 85th, west of 8th.
- Bicycle “sharrows” will be marked on the street between Greenwood Ave NW and 15th Ave NW.
- The work will not include the intersection at 15th Ave NW, but everything up to it.
We will be impacted by these changes, we can expect higher traffic volumes on neighborhood, non-arterial streets as motorists avoid the construction area, and try to get to the businesses along 85th. We can expect higher traffic volumes on 80th, 15th, 8th, Holman and the streets located within.
