Not visible from the cars driving over it, the wooden structure that holds up the 45th Street Viaduct in the University District is in dire need of replacement. Also not visible are those who use the structure for shelter.
The Seattle Department of Transportation held an open house Thurs., Nov. 12 to discuss how construction--set to occur between the University of Washington's commencement on June 12 and the first Husky football game on Sept. 12 -- would affect communities in the neighborhood, including the homeless.
"This is obviously a permanent impact on those living under the viaduct," said Maribel Cruz, SDOT's outreach coordinator. "They will have nothing to shelter themselves."
This is because a solid concrete structure will replace the existing open wooden one, a process SDOT calls "fill wall technology." It will basically be a retaining wall, according to project engineer Vincent Mi.
This solution was chosen as the most viable option -- and triumphed over five other options -- because it would allow for the shortest construction period, something the neighboring UW had asked for considering the amount of student-related traffic that flows over the bridge: 20,000 cars use the viaduct daily.
The viaduct will close to all traffic during the summer, allowing construction to occur day and night. If one lane were to remain open, the project would take a much longer 18 months.
"We also came at it from a safety standpoint," said Leroy Slemmer, a consultant for Exeltech, which created the design for the city. "[With a filled structure] you don't have the homeless element down there."
There used to be a much larger homeless population under the bridge prior to a 2002 fire that was accidently started by somebody underneath and quickly enveloped the wooden structure, said project manager Mike Ward. Some reconstruction was needed and the city quickly stepped in to clear the area out.
But there are still a number of campers in the area, especially in the densely wooded Kincaid Ravine to the south of the viaduct. Construction will be enveloped in a work zone with a 30-foot radius that includes part of the ravine.
Noise pollution was voiced as a concern by local residents at the open house. With a day-and-night operation, there is the potential for around-the-clock noise that would be disruptive to the communities in the immediate vicinity, including those in the ravine.
Ward said that SDOT is currently working to define what kind of activity the construction crew will be doing during the night. For instance, the workers may be filling the structure with concrete at night, which creates more of a background "white noise," Ward said.
"We obviously won't be jackhammering all night," Ward added.
But as far as outreach to the homeless in the area goes, there currently isn't much being done. Cruz said that this would occur closer to construction, come springtime.
"It is really hard to contact them," Cruz said. "But we hope that by communicating a lot about the issue, the word will trickle down to them. We know that they are a stakeholder in this process."
Cruz added that a number of outreach programs will inform homeless people of the coming construction and help them move to a new location. She said that the U District Neighborhood services would go out before construction to post signs on the wooden viaduct structure. Also, the local food bank will be asked to get the word out.
"I think that the experiences in the past were positive," Cruz said, citing the East Duwamish bridge reconstruction that also had a number of homeless people living nearby. "The process that we have in place is fairly good."