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Seattle City Light Construction on the Central Waterfront Coming to a Close

Seattle City Light crews have completed installation of valuts and conduit for relocation of transmission lines from the Alaskan Way Viaduct on time and under budget.

Now that the weather is a little nicer, have you had a chance to make it down to the Seattle waterfront? If you’ve been waiting for the Seattle summer to appear, what you may not know is that crews working for Seattle City Light have been busy working on a critical infrastructure project along the waterfront.

The Central Waterfront Transmission Line Relocation Project started in November 2011. In a nutshell, crews were tasked to relocate transmission lines from under the viaduct and put them in a permanent location underground. The work was complicated and included building vaults and duct bank in a dynamic and busy environment. This project had to happen now in advance of other construction projects planned for the waterfront.

In late April 2012, our crews reached a critical schedule milestone, on time and under budget. All installation of conduit and vaults was completed. The schedule for all projects along the waterfront is very tight; there were no float days or room to miss our deadline.

Working with WSDOT and their contractor, Seattle Tunnel Partners, crews have completed most of the restoration activities and are opening up on-street parking under the viaduct. Waterfront area businesses, visitors, and employees rely on this parking. Getting it open in time for the “busy season” on the waterfront is key.

Throughout the month of May, another crew will be on-site under the viaduct, pulling cable through the new conduit. This small, mobile activity will impact a couple of parking spaces at a time, but for the most part, will not be noticed as the project comes to a close.

To read more about the project, visit the project website.