Seattle City Light’s contractor, Berschauer Phillips, will be installing twenty-four additional LED streetlights along Lake Washington Boulevard the weekend of August 10-12. Seattle City Light’s contractor, Berschauer Phillips, will be installing twenty-four additional LED streetlights along Lake Washington Boulevard the weekend of August 10-12.
The work will result in the second of three two-day closures on the road through the Washington Park Arboretum. The street will be closed from 7 p.m. on Friday, August 10 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 12. The closure is scheduled to coincide with the closure of the SR 520 Bridge. The project is being coordinated with Seattle Parks and Recreation, University of Washington, and Seattle Department of Transportation to maximize efficiencies and to minimize closure times. The work on August 10-12 includes pedestrian and bicycle improvements and landscape and drainage maintenance.
Park and boulevard users, including bicyclists and pedestrians, should anticipate closures from Foster Island Road on the north end, to Arboretum Drive on the south end of the park. During the closures, access to the Seattle Japanese Garden parking lot will be available from the south end of Lake Washington Boulevard East. Access to the Graham Visitors Center and the north end of the Arboretum will be provided from the north end of Lake Washington Boulevard East from Foster Island Drive.
The current high pressure sodium lights had reached the end of their useful life. The conversion to LEDs streetlights will reduce energy consumption by up to 62 percent, improve service reliability and lower maintenance costs. Enhanced light quality will improve safety. Increased depth of field and peripheral vision without color distortion will make it easier to see while driving or walking in the area at night.
The streetlights are being installed in phases. This planned work will bring the total installed up to fifty-three with an additional twenty tentatively scheduled for September 8-9. That work would involve the third and final planned closure of Lake Washington Boulevard from Saturday morning through Sunday evening, once again to coincide with a scheduled 520 Bridge closure.
For more information on these projects, contact Seattle Department of Transportation’s Marybeth Turner at (206) 684-8548. For questions related to LED Streetlight installation, contact Seattle City Light’s Mark VanOss at (206) 684-3279.