Seattle City Light will be upgrading the underground electrical cable system in the Hurstwood neighborhood of Burien beginning in late October. A community meeting will be held to explain the project tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. The meeting will be held at Mount View Elementary School, 10811 12th Ave. SW. Seattle City Light will be upgrading the underground electrical cable system in the Hurstwood neighborhood of Burien beginning in late October. All affected customers have been notified by mail and are invited to a community meeting tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. The meeting will be held at Mount View Elementary School, 10811 12th Ave. SW. City Light representatives will be on hand to answer questions from the community about neighborhood impacts of the upgrade and subsequent construction work.
Hurstwood’s electrical cables are aging, which means that their protective insulation is beginning to deteriorate. This can cause cracks, which can lead to unplanned power outages. City Light is working with a company called Novinium to repair the cables using a silicone injection process. The silicone fills the cracks in the cables and extends their useful life. This will provide more reliable electrical service for the neighborhood. City Light has used this method successfully in 22 other neighborhoods since 2009.
Affected customers can expect planned power outages so crews can work safely. All customers impacted by the outages will be notified the Thursday before the outage. The electrical configuration in Hurstwood may require up to seven outages for some customers. Planned outages will not occur on consecutive days. The outages will last approximately eight hours each.
Work will begin in late October and last approximately seven weeks. Work hours are 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. There will be no outages on Thanksgiving Day or on the day before. Some traffic and parking disruptions will occur in the work area, all of which will be clearly marked with signs. Flaggers will be used as needed on residential streets and crews will ensure that access to driveways is maintained.
Be sure to join us on October 16 and ask any questions you may have! You can also learn more at http://www.seattle.gov/light/aboutus/construction/.