Transportation

Press release:

Starting the evening of Monday, May 14, and through early Thursday morning, May 17, there will be night-time lane closures on westbound State Route 518, International Blvd, Air Cargo Rd, S 170th St, S 160th St, and the Airport roadway system to support the installation of roadway signage for the opening of the new Rental Car Facility.


Monday, May 14 to Tuesday, May 15
Between 8:00 pm and 4:00am construction crews will have lanes closed on S 170th St and Air Cargo Rd. Travel lanes will be open through the construction work zones to support traffic.

Between 11:30pm and 4:30am construction crews will have two lanes closed on the southbound lanes of the Northern Airport Expressway. Travel lanes will be open through the construction work zones to support traffic.

Tuesday, May 15 to Wednesday, May 16
Between 8:00pm and 11:00pm construction crews will have lanes closed on eastbound State Route 518 in the vicinity of the Airport exit. Travel lanes will be open through the construction work zones to support traffic.

While few Highline residents may use the Sea-Tac Airport’s new consolidated rental car facility, its opening on May 17 will bring local benefits.

With the twelve rental car companies all consolidated in one location away from the airport, congestion along SeaTac city streets and airport roadways will be reduced, along with the resulting pollution from the vehicles.

The project also generated $25 million in local taxes as well as creating 3,900 local construction jobs during the great recession. Up to 350 trades people worked at the site at one time.

The massive five-story, $2.1 million square foot facility is located at South 160th Street and International Boulevard. The building, which is the largest concrete structure on the west coast, is easily visible from State Route 518, just southwest of the Tukwila light rail station.

Although construction has stretched over three years, airport managing director Mark Reis noted at a May 9 pre-opening celebration the project has been more like a “17-year journey” with several stops and restarts.

Press release:

The Port of Seattle is alerting area residents to two scheduled temporary closures of runways for pavement work this summer at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

During the closure, airport neighbors may notice increased noise associated with changes in runway use.

The closures will address ramp, taxiway and runway pavement improvements as well as the relocation of Federal Aviation Administration antennae.

The scheduled dates are May 14 – June 20 and July 20 – August 8.

The runway closure will not affect airline flight schedules or passengers.

All air traffic will be directed to the two open runways during the projects. Construction work will be done during daytime hours to reduce noise impacts to area neighborhoods during the evening.

The timing also takes advantage of construction season weather to reduce the total time of the closures.


Press release:

Vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others—including babies—during the ongoing whooping cough (pertussis) epidemic, so Public Health – Seattle & King County and Group Health Cooperative are partnering to provide free whooping cough booster shots for adults.

Adults without health insurance and those who cannot afford to pay can get a free booster on Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Group Health Burien Medical Center.

Young infants are at highest risk for severe illness, hospitalization and death from whooping cough. In older children and adults, the severity of whooping cough can range from a serious illness to less severe cold-like symptoms.

However, the greater danger is that adults can spread the infection to infants, pregnant women and others who have no protection.

Health officials urge all adults, especially those who have contact with infants, children and pregnant women, to make sure they have had their whooping cough vaccination.

Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012

Time: The clinic is open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or until there is no more vaccine available

Press release:

Friday May 18th is National Bike Day and the newly formed Walk/Bike Burien (WABI) is teaming up with Bicycles West, the City of Burien, Freggies, and Discover Burien to offer a pair of pedal-powered events for adults and children of all ages and abilities. See below for details on Burien Bike Day events.

In order to help you get ready for Burien Bike Day on Friday, May 18th and the warmer weather that know is around the corner, WABI has teamed up with Bicycles West to offer a FREE Bicycling 101 class for those who want to learn or review what they need to get themselves and their families rolling on two wheels.

When: Weds May 9th, 7:30-8:30pm
Where: Bicycles West - 804 Southwest 151st Street, Burien.
Who: Anyone interested in learning or getting refreshed on bicycling basics, including riding around town and commuting safely and confidently to work or the transit center on a bike.

Topics: What you need (helmet, flat prevention, lock)
Basic maintenance/safety check
Finding safe routes in Burien
Most common causes of accidents
Road rules, skills, and etiquette
What you need to fix a flat

Press release:

Port of Seattle Commission on Wednesday, April 25 accepted the LEED® Silver award from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the design, construction and operation of the soon-to-open consolidated Rental Car Facility at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (The facility is set to open to the public on May 17.)

This is currently the largest consolidated rental car facility in the nation to be certified Silver by the USGBC, the nation’s preeminent program for high performance green buildings. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation’s preeminent program for green building certification.

”We can build a sustainable future while we create jobs,” Port of Seattle Commission President Gael Tarleton said after learning of the award. “All of our partners can take credit for recycling more than 97 percent of construction waste and sourcing nearly 30 percent of building materials from local and regional suppliers.”

Press release:

King County issued $30 million in bonds today to finance the County’s share of costs to replace the South Park Bridge. Construction of the new bridge began in May 2011, and it is expected to open in fall 2013.

“Once again, our prudent fiscal management and blue-chip bond rating has enabled us to finance a needed piece of infrastructure – in this case replacement of the South Park Bridge – at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.

The total cost of replacing the South Park Bridge is $163 million. The other funding sources include a grant from the federal government and contributions from local partners including the State of Washington, Port of Seattle, City of Seattle, and others.

The county was able to achieve very low borrowing costs thanks to its high quality bond ratings and favorable market interest rates. Annual debt service costs, initially projected at $2.5 million annually, will actually be about $2 million, resulting in a savings of $500,000 per year for the County’s Roads Fund, or $10 million over the 20-year life of the bonds.

Port of Seattle press release:

With the Seattle Mariners about to open their 2012 home season, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is reminding fans to save money, traffic frustration and emissions with its half-price parking offer for all weekend games.

The 50 percent discount offer also includes all Friday through Sunday Seahawk, Sounder, Husky, and Cougar game days for parking in Terminal Direct to connect with Link Light Rail to the stadium district. [Remember, UW football plays in CenturyLink Field this year during their stadium renovation and WSU hosts Oregon for their annual west-side game.]
 


Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac Airport offers the most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link Light Rail. You’ll park on the fourth floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the SeaTac/Airport Station.



Press release:

A quick heads up to those who use the Sea-Tac Airport cellphone lot. Starting Thursday, March 22, the lot will be reduced in size during the demolition of a building next door.

Fencing will be put up to designate the reduced size of the parking lot to help protect vehicles. The lot will regain size once the demolition is completed.

For alternate parking, vehicles can use the airport parking garage for as little as $3/hour. Traveler pickup is convenient and it is easy access to the terminal from the garage.

The most convenient access is Terminal Direct on the 4th floor for $4/hour. The rest of the airport garage levels can be accessed through General Parking for $3/hour. Drivers are reminded that parking on the drives and expressways is prohibited.

Thank you for your patience.

Burien is pulling its red-light cameras in May but SeaTac is sticking with theirs for, at least, two more years.

SeaTac council members voted 5-1 March 14 to request a two-year extension of its contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, the same company providing Burien’s red-light cameras. Councilman Rick Forschler was the lone dissenting vote.

Burien lawmakers were told in February that Burien had spent about $85,000 in district court costs over the past three years for the photo enforcement program. SeaTac has its own municipal court.

Although Burien does not pay Redflex more than revenues received from tickets, finance director Kim Krause reported over a three-year period, there was an $18,973 deficit between costs billed by Redflex and ticket revenues.

Detailed financial statistics are