February 9, 2022
The critical East Marginal Way corridor is set to begin a makeover that will deliver a better road along with a much safer bike lane in each direction. This week, the Port of Seattle Commission approved $5.5 million to the North Segment of the project in the form of a memorandum of understanding with the City of Seattle. The City’s construction will begin this year and is estimated to be complete in 2025.
“The Port of Seattle is committed to promoting the mobility of goods and people throughout our region,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa. “The East Marginal Way Improvement Project promotes diversity in transportation choices for commuters, effectively improving freight mobility as well as safety for pedestrians and cyclists."
Those familiar with this road will be happy to know that this project will improve safety and reliability in the movement of people and goods; support freight loads by rebuilding East Marginal Way to heavy haul standards; promote efficiency through signal modifications, improving wayfinding and lighting, and intelligent transportation systems; and most importantly, improve safety by separating active modes of traffic from vehicle traffic.
“West Seattle Bike Connections is excited to see the implementation of years of collaborative work with SDOT and especially our neighbors at the Port of Seattle, designing a truly multi-modal corridor into downtown. Striving for an all-ages all abilities bike/pedestrian facility within an international port facility is quite a challenge but everyone made honest efforts to accommodate the various interests and we are confident the result will meet the growing need to move people in and out of downtown by bicycle and other emerging forms of personal transportation,“ said Paul Dieter, a West Seattle Bike Connections member. Further funding will be available for rebuilding the sidewalk on the west side of East Marginal Way S adjacent to the roadway reconstruction north of South Horton Street.
East Marginal Way is one of the City’s most important transportation corridors supporting both the region’s economic resilience and equitable health and access opportunities. The corridor parallels the Duwamish Waterway, running the length of the Manufacturing-Industrial Center, through the center of our industrial jobs base. It provides access to the Port-owned and NWSA-operated terminals, to manufacturing, warehousing, and commercial businesses, to freight rail yards, and to the national highway system, including I-5 and the western terminus of I-90.
This roadway is in critical need of investment to support the continued growth of freight activity and safe travel by all users. East Marginal Way serves as a critical last-mile connector and vital route for oversized trucks and, at the same time, is an important corridor for many of the people who work or need to access goods in the manufacturing industrial center by car, bike, or on foot. The City of Seattle has developed this project to address the full range of these uses, specifically designing it to meet Heavy Haul freight standards while also incorporating a protected bike facility.
For more information, please visit the SDOT project's website.
For more information on the Port of Seattle’s regional transportation investments.
