Starting Wednesday, September 12, Seattle City Light will begin installation of two new conduits, or duct banks, in the downtown Seattle area across Columbia Street at 4th and 5th Avenues. Starting Wednesday, September 12, Seattle City Light will begin installation of two new conduits, or duct banks, in the downtown Seattle area across Columbia Street at 4th and 5th Avenues.
The project is part of City Light’s ongoing work to upgrade the city’s electrical system to maintain and increase service reliability. Construction and installation will start with the duct bank closest to 4th Avenue on September 12 and then move onto the one at 5th Avenue once the first one is completed. Each duct bank will take approximately two weeks from start to finish. Crew will be working Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with some weekend work possible.
There are no scheduled power outages associated with the project, and two travel lanes will be open through the work zone on Columbia Street. Traffic exiting from the freeway and turning down Columbia may experience some delays. Signs will be in place at the exit from I-5 onto 6th Avenue, and on 6th Avenue between Marion and Columbia to direct drivers. Uniformed police officers will help with parking access beneath all parking garages and the parking lot at the Rainier Club. Some on-street parking will be lost on both sides of Columbia. “No Parking” signs will affect each block separately, starting first with the block between 4th and 5th and then the block between 5th and 6th. City Light’s own headquarters in the Seattle Municipal Tower fall within the work zone, along with the Bank of America Tower and Columbia Center Tower.
Once the civil construction is finished and at a later date, crews will install new cable over several days. This work is much less intrusive, involving up to two trucks and lineworkers pulling cable into place and working inside the underground vaults. The trucks will take up some parking space and the work will impact traffic flow, but will not require extensive lane closures.
Customer inquiries can be directed to Mark VanOss, Public Information Specialist, at (206) 684-3279, and mark.vanoss@seattle.gov or visit the project’s website at: http://www.seattle.gov/light/aboutus/construction/