The City of Seattle says the second phase of the $43 million 23rd/24th Ave corridor improvement project is going well with the biggest risk being sorting out how to reduce the number of utility pole required to electrify the route for Metro coaches.

The update in SDOT’s latest report on major capital projects keeps the timeline for the work on the stretch south of Jackson on pace for completion before next summer.

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The utility pole work is also part of planning for the eventual transition to a RapidRide route serving 23rd Ave. A demand to speed up implementation of the route — now without an official timeline from SDOT and Metro — is part of the plank championed by the new MASS: Move All Seattle Sustainably coalition that formed this fall to push for faster, smarter street investments. “RapidRide upgrades might be delayed, but we shouldn’t wait to paint bus lanes for Route 48, especially in the four lane sections of 23rd/24th Avenue where speeding is rampant and collisions far too commonplace,” the advocates write.

The 23rd Ave work underway south of Jackson includes sidewalk improvements including new paving, crosswalks, and upgraded pedestrian crossing signals, new landscaping and trees, and transit improvements including real-time arrival information and bus pullouts between Jackson and S Hill. There will also be more work to extend the adjacent Central Area Neighborhood Greenway for bikes and pedestrians. A major water main project will also be undertaken during the roadwork.

In April, CHS reported on the start of work on the intensive construction and overhaul of the street in the Central District.

A much-reduced plan has also reshaped small portions of the corridor through Montlake for pedestrian and transit improvements.

The first phase of the project around 23rd and Union was completed in March 2017.

You can learn more and get construction updates at seattle.gov.