Transportation

Burien Public Works director Maiya Andrews briefed lawmakers Dec. 3 on steps the city is taking to prevent cost overruns that have plagued projects along First Avenue South and Ambaum Boulevard Southwest.

“I’ve had big concerns about several recent projects but my biggest concern is that we not keep making the same mistakes,” Councilmember Jack Block Jr. declared. “

Andrews said the city seeks to keep costs in line by project estimating, monitoring change orders and managing risk along with other cost controls.

City Manager Mike Martin emphasized Andrews has 20 years of experience managing projects.

He said previous public works managers did not have Andrews’ project management experience.

“We are head and shoulders above where we were in project management,” Martin noted.

Martin added the first phase of the First Avenue project that involved undergrounding wires was “extremely complicated.”

He said the various utility agencies did not coordinate very well on the project.

“We’ve evolved,” Martin added.

Andrews noted, “It is important to have the utilities in the game with us.”

Port of Seattle press release:

The Port of Seattle Commission approved Wednesday, Dec. 5 an aggressive 25-year program that positions the port as a leader to help create 100,000 new jobs in the region while reducing the port’s environmental footprint.

“We established bold, achievable goals for the port and regional stakeholders in our Century Agenda,” said John Creighton, Port of Seattle commissioner. “It builds on the 100 plus year role the port has played in creating economic growth for the Puget Sound region and the state of Washington. The Commission thanks the hundreds of citizens who worked with us to a set a path forward for the next 25 years.”

“As commissioners, we’re getting to work, contributing resources and joining teams to pursue these new initiatives,” said Tom Albro, Port of Seattle commissioner. “We look forward to working with stakeholders throughout the region to accomplish the goals of the Century Agenda.”

Press release:

The fall holiday travel season gets underway with one of the busiest days of the period this Friday, Nov. 16 and an estimated half of a million travelers during the busiest week at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Even though this is not the busiest travel season of the year at Sea-Tac, we do see many infrequent travelers during the holidays that can benefit from our annual holiday travel tips. 


The busiest day for the upcoming holiday period will be the day before Thanksgiving with almost 91,000 passengers projected to go through the airport. The next busiest day will be the Sunday after Thanksgiving (86,856 passengers) when travelers begin to return home from the holiday.


What are the slowest travel days? Thanksgiving day and the following Friday, when only a bit more than 65,000 travelers will be on hand.
 
Those numbers are still much lower than an average summer travel day, when Sea-Tac sees about 100,000 passengers per day.

Sound Transit press release:

Sound Transit is kicking off the process for working with South King County communities on options for extending high-capacity transit service. The effort will help shape alternatives for building high capacity transit from South 200th Street to Kent/Des Moines, as well as a shovel-ready plan for reaching the heart of Federal Way.

Community members are invited to attend two open houses as part of an early scoping process. The process will help Sound Transit identify options that will be evaluated in an alternatives analysis over the next several months.

Des Moines
4-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 at Highline Community College (Building 2), South 240th Street and Pacific Highway South

Federal Way
4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13 at Truman High School (Gym), 31455 28th Ave. S.

Press release:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Port of Seattle (Port) will facilitate a public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 13 to provide information on existing flight procedures into and out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Boeing Field.


The meeting details are as follows:


Who: Representatives from the FAA, Port of Seattle and King County Airport/Boeing Field.



When: Tuesday, Nov. 13, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
 
Where: Cleveland High School - Auditorium
 5511 15th Ave S.
 Seattle, WA 98108


One City Council member really wants SeaTac to live up to its motto as the “Hospitality City.”

Rick Forschler proposed Oct. 23 that city residents share their homes with airline employees that are laid over in SeaTac during the holidays.

Forschler even gave out his cell phone number, 206-419-5170, for residents interested in his project.

He said pilots, flight attendants and other airline employees are often staying in SeaTac hotels away from their families during holiday periods. He noted residents could be become better neighbors and friends by inviting the employees to spend the holiday with them.

He said the idea came to him as he pondered requests to the council for city funds to put on Angle Lake fireworks displays on Independence Day. The council has appropriated $10,000 annually for several years to help fund the display.

Forschler said he is opposed to using city money for the display but would organize voluntary fundraising efforts. He noted no one has taken him up on his offer.

He said that got him thinking g about the city’s “core competency,” which he described as the airport and related businesses.

Alaska Airlines press release:

A Sprint fiber network cable severed in the Seattle area significantly delayed Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights on Monday, Oct. 8.

Sprint provides the airlines with connectivity to SABRE, the system the carriers use for reservations, to check in passengers and to purchase tickets.

Sprint internet service was disrupted at 7:30 a.m. and was restored about noon.

As of noon, the two airlines had canceled 70 flights, affecting more than 6,000 passengers. More than 130 flights had departed, some up to four hours late.

Alaska and Horizon plan to pre-cancel some flights scheduled to depart between 2 and 5 p.m. today Pacific time to help return their operation to normal.

A complete list of those pre-cancellations will be posted at www.alaskaair.com

Passengers traveling today are urged to check the status of their flight at
alaskaair.com, Alaska’s mobile website, or by using Alaska’s mobile apps for the iPhone and Android.

Customers can also call 1-800-ALASKAAIR (1-800-252-7522) before leaving for the airport.

Press release:

Please join The City of SeaTac in the grand-reopening South 154th Road Improvement Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
WHO: The City of SeaTac
WHEN: Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 11 a.m.
WHERE: Crystal Manor Apartments, 3020 South 154th Street
Ceremony in Parking Lot

DETAILS: This event is free and open to the public. Improvements include 3,400 lineal feet of new sidewalk, bicycle lanes, street lighting, a continuous two way left-turn lane, street lighting, lighted pedestrian crossing, retaining walls and street trees. Additionally, overhead utilities were relocated underground, and storm water facilities were improved. Total length of the project is 2,800 linear feet.

The project, which began in March of last year, was aimed at increasing pedestrian safety and traffic conditions for all commuters on the road. Contributions were made from the Federal Highway Administration, Transportation Improvement Board and Sound Transit. For more information visit www.ci.seatac.wa.us.

Press release:
The Puget Sound Regional Council is recommending $10.1 million in funding for projects serving SeaTac, Burien and Des Moines, part of more than $440 million in federal funds proposed by PSRC to improve transportation around the region.
Projects in Des Moines include:
• Barnes Creek Trail - $380,000
• Connecting 28th/24th Avenue South (S. 208th St to S 216th St) - $3,000,000

Projects in SeaTac and Burien include:

• South 188th Street Overlay, International Boulevard to 46th Avenue South - $585,000
• Lake to Sound Trail – Segment B - $1,000,000 South Corridor Transit Expansion Project (Sound Transit) - $1,000,000
• South Link (Sound Transit) - $4,264,839

“These projects were selected on their merits and support the region’s economic development and growth,” said Bellevue Councilmember Claudia Balducci, chair of PSRC’s Transportation Policy Board. “When Congress approved these funds earlier this year, their focus was on growing and sustaining jobs. These projects, large and small, will put people to work and shore up the foundations of our economy for the future.”

Press release:

The Seahawks exhibition season gets un