Construction on 166th Avenue NE has caused a lot of frustration on Education Hill over the past couple of weeks. This has certainly been unpleasant, and we apologize for disrupting those who need to drive through this work zone.

As you can imagine, we have heard from angry and disappointed drivers on Education Hill. Many fear that the traffic mess they are now experiencing is what they will permanently face in the future.

This is untrue.

What we currently have on 166th Avenue Northeast is a major construction project at an intersection that is central to the Education Hill neighborhood.

It is also surrounded by four schools that generate a high volume of morning traffic. It is not unusual or unexpected for roadway construction to cause traffic delays. The current situation on 166th Avenue Northeast is difficult, but it is not permanent, nor indicative of what is to come.

At the start of the intersection project, it was necessary to restrict traffic to one lane in each direction.

This was done at the beginning rather than at the end of the project for two reasons:

1. A safe work zone could be created for construction workers, and

2. At the conclusion of the project in November, weather could keep crews from being able to install the new channelization. The work zone lane restrictions significantly decrease capacity at this primary Education Hill intersection, but this decrease in capacity is temporary until the project is complete.

Unfortunately, drivers are down to one lane in each direction for this construction without the benefit of two main components that will come once the project is complete – the third travel lane and the traffic signal. The third lane will reduce delay by removing left-turns from through traffic. This lane will also provide refuge for side-street residents who now have trouble entering or exiting traffic flow on 166th.

The traffic signal will allow streams of traffic to move through the intersection. This is probably hard to imagine now, but city staff remains confident that the end result of the construction will provide a safer intersection for kids walking to school, lower vehicular speed, and a safer, more comfortable environment for pedestrians and bicyclists who also use the road.

Traffic operations around the project site are being evaluated several times a day. We are responding to concerns we’ve heard about construction starting earlier in the day than scheduled, about flagging, about the off-duty police officers, and about crossings around the construction site.

We are also responding to drivers who have taken the time to contact us with their own observations and concerns.

Are we aware of the mess this project has created? Have we driven up 166th after 5 p.m. to see how far traffic is backed up? The answer to both of these questions is yes. Not only are we on the project site daily, but several of us, myself included, live on Education Hill.

At this time, safety for pedestrians and drivers is our highest priority and needs to take precedence over driver convenience for the duration of the project.

At the conclusion of the construction, we will monitor and measure the intersection and surrounding streets to determine the effectiveness of the new signal and the rechannelization on 166th.

We encourage you to bear with us until this project is complete. Construction is on schedule, with an anticipated completion time in mid-November. We appreciate your patience for the next several weeks and look forward to your comments when this work is done.