SPR replacing sidewalk along Lake Washington

Walking along Lake Washington Boulevard will get easier when five sections of sidewalk are replaced through mid-December.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is overseeing the $35,000 replacement project, which is being carried out by Statewide Parking Lot Services. A portion of the path was replaced near Leschi earlier this year.

Funding comes from the city’s Small Paving Program.

“I know these particular sites, we were getting something from our maintenance, they get customer complaints, crew observations, and that’s part of how we look at what sections we do,” said Sandi Albertsen, assistant capital projects coordinator with SPR.

Those sections are: south of the Lakewood Moorage; further north on Lake Washington Boulevard South; near the Adams Street Boat Ramp; and then two portions  near the end of 49th Avenue South.

Part of the issue with the deteriorated sections is tree roots running under the sidewalk.

“They all have similar, major root problems,” Albertsen said, “so when we can we’ll make the transitions over the roots. We’re going to trim what roots can be trimmed, so they’re (Statewide) going to work with our parks arborist.”

While the trees along Lake Washington cause pavement damage, they also make the path beautiful, Albertsen said, so reconfiguring the sidewalks is also part of the project.

“The urban forest is very important to the health of Seattle, and so where we can we’re going to pull the pathway away from the trees,” she said.

The sidewalk replacement won’t impact traffic on Lake Washington Boulevard, but this cold spell could be problematic.

“They can do the preparation work, but actually putting down the asphalt, it has to be above 40 degrees,” Albertsen said.

Statewide will work on one segment of sidewalk before moving on to the next, and detours will be in place during construction, with work expected to wrap up by Dec. 15.

“Asphalt actually sets relatively quickly,” Albertsen said. “We’re going to work to minimize the impact to the trail users as much as possible.”