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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Record Amount of Street Resurfacing in 2004
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
1/24/2005 11:00:00 AM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of the Mayor (206) 684-4000
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Record Amount of Street Resurfacing in 2004
Seattle records six-year high in street resurfacing throughout city
SEATTLE - Despite limited resources, the City of Seattle accomplished a record amount of street resurfacing in 2004 - nearly 64 12-foot-wide lane miles of paving and other resurfacing; the highest level of lane-miles paved since 1998.
"Well-paved roads mean fewer potholes," said Mayor Greg Nickels. "By taking care of our roads, we make it easier to get around. It’s good for people. It’s good for business. And it just makes sense to take care of what we have."
Seattle allocates funds annually for street resurfacing and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) manages the city’s resurfacing programs, monitoring the conditions of city streets and selecting the streets to be paved.
"Last year we took advantage of every available day we could to resurface and rehabilitate Seattle’s streets," said SDOT Director Grace Crunican. "We used every dollar budgeted for this task and got a great return on taxpayer’s money. We set a six-year high in 2004."
In 2004, SDOT resurfaced more than 27.8 lane miles through its annual maintenance programs, and rehabilitated an additional 29.5 miles of residential streets. An additional 6.5 miles of streets were resurfaced under city-issued permits or through other city programs. Some of the more significant projects included resurfacing large stretches of Rainier Avenue South, Fifth Avenue Northeast and the portion of Seneca Street connecting with Interstate 5.
The largest paving projects are bid out to private contractors. SDOT’s own street-paving crews perform small spot-paving projects on arterial streets, as well as most of the resurfacing on residential streets.
In addition to the streets included in SDOT’s annual paving program, some streets are paved as part of projects that include general street improvements. More work remains, but SDOT is aiming for similar results in 2005.
Get the mayor’s inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm.
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Office of the Mayor
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