Delridge Way SW - RapidRide H Line

Bus lanes, paving, landscaped medians, crosswalk improvements, protected bike lanes, neighborhood greenway connections, signal upgrades, water and sewer pipe upgrades, spot parking and bike lane removal, public art.

Updated December 12, 2022

What's Happening Now?

Greetings | تحية طيبة  |  ሰላም |Nagga qaabaadha | Saludos | Salaamu caleykum | Pagbati | Chào bạn

We've completed our construction on Delridge Way SW

Enjoy smoother streets, safer intersections, new lanes for buses and bikes, artwork, and more on Delridge Way SW. As you travel along Delridge Way SW, you will see:

  • New bus lanes, which will support the future RapidRide H Line. These bus lanes provide dedicated lane space for buses to pass other traffic, particularly during peak commuting hours. All in all, we’re helping to improve transit service to support employment growth, as well as travel time and reliability.
  • Traffic signal upgrades, including a bus priority signal, to allow buses to move to the front of traffic at red lights.
  • New traffic signals to improve safety for people walking, rolling, and biking.
  • New curbs and curb ramps along Delridge Way SW to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, creating a more accessible corridor.
  • Repaved streets to ensure a smooth, reliable trip for buses and people driving.
  • Medians with landscaping and vegetation, including a new irrigation system to help reduce maintenance and keep plants in good health. In total, we planted more than 150 trees along the corridor.
  • Crosswalk improvements, a new protected bike lane, and upgraded Neighborhood Greenway connections for people walking, biking, and rolling. Ultimately, these enhancements also help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and create more comfortable connections to transit.
  • Seattle Public Utilities water and sewer system upgrades.
  • Seattle City Light lighting and electric distribution system upgrades.

King County Metro is expecting to start RapidRide H Line service in 2023. For more about H-Line service at Metro's work south of Seattle, visit their project webpage. 

We will seismically retrofit the Delridge Pedestrian Bridge; construction will begin in 2024.

The Delridge Pedestrian Bridge is a high priority for a seismic retrofit, which will make the bridge safer in events like earthquakes. 

Beginning in summer 2021, we asked Delridge neighbors whether the bridge should be removed or kept and seismically retrofitted. We heard loud and clear that the Delridge community would like to keep the bridge. 

We will seismically retrofit the Delridge Pedestrian Bridge and construction will begin in 2024. Thank you to everyone who shared feedback and helped inform the plan. We will provide additional updates on this webpage. 

Language Resources

Español | Que puede esperar durante la construcción  

Tiếng Việt | Những gì xảy ra trong lúc xây dựng  

Soomaali | Maxaad filan kartaa waqtiga dhismuhu socodo  

ما الذي تتوقعه خلال البناء  

Tagalog | Anong maaasahan sa panahon ng construction  

አማርኛ | ስለፕሮጀክቱ እና በግንባታ ውስጥ ምን እንደሚጠበቅ የበለጠ ይረዱ።  

Afaan Oromo | Yeroo ijaarsaatti wantota eegaman 

Stay updated

Project Overview

We're working to make Delridge Way SW a better street for buses by bringing multimodal improvements to the neighborhood in coordination with new Metro RapidRide service. That means your Seattle levy dollars will remake and reimagine what Delridge can be for everyone traveling in the neighborhood. Delridge Way SW - RapidRide H Line project includes new bus lanes to sail past traffic, a new bus signal to hop to the front of the line at red lights, and a commitment to getting people walking and biking around the neighborhood and to new stops. 

As part of this project, we will be making ongoing bike and pedestrian improvements to the greenways as we complete construction on Delridge Way SW. For details on bike improvements once the project is complete, please visit our final design site at rapidridehline.participate.online. 

Public Art

Studio Wowhaus has been selected to create art for this project. To learn more and connect with the artists visit the Art Beat Blog or send us an email at RapidRide@seattle.gov

Map of scope of project, which covers Delridge Way from SW Henderson to SW Andover

What to Expect During Construction

Construction can be disruptive, and we want you - especially those who live, work, or travel on Delridge Way SW - to be prepared for major construction. 

Construction for the project is divided into three different zones.

  • Zone A - West Seattle Bridge to SW Findlay St
  • Zone B - SW Findlay St to north of SW Orchard St
  • Zone C - North of SW Orchard St to White Center We will work in all three zones at the same time working from north to south and starting on the west side of Delridge. No-Parking signs will be posted on both sides of the road in each phase of work in order to shift traffic around the work zones. As utility work is completed, we will follow the corridor to demolish and restore the road also from north to south. Lane closures will occur when stormwater drainage systems will need to be upgraded.

As part of this project, we will be upgrading curb ramps throughout the corridor. You can expect ramp demolition to look like the photo above on the corner of Delridge Way SW and SW Genesee St. Delridge will be open to traffic during construction. We will maintain 1 lane of traffic in each direction at most times during construction, though temporary detours may be needed. You can expect to see and hear construction activities throughout the corridor during the duration of work. Generally, we anticipate construction work to be on weekdays between 7 AM and 7 PM.

Construction impacts may include:

  • Noise, dust, and large vehicle traffic
  • Temporary parking restrictions for weeks at a time
  • Temporary utility service impacts
  • Driveways may need to be closed temporarily
  • Some nighttime and weekend work to minimize traffic impacts 
  • Periodic traffic detours 
  • Vehicle lane shifts around work zones    
  • Some full closures of major intersections     
  • Pedestrian and bicycle detours around the work
  • Flaggers to help direct traffic 
  • Temporary bus detours and bus stop relocations 

Bike detours during construction

Throughout construction, traffic will be shifted around work zones. We will maintain one lane of traffic in each direction at most times during construction, though temporary detours may be needed. People biking will need to merge with vehicle traffic on Delridge Way SW or people driving may need to merge with bikes in the bike lane, depending on the work zone. If you typically travel along Delridge Way SW by bike, we encourage you to start using the Delridge Neighborhood Greenway on 26th Ave SW or the Delridge - Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway.

Impacts of West Seattle Bridge closure

The closure of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge has significantly impacted the way people move through West Seattle in recent months. As we continue to make on the ground improvements to keep people moving now, we will also continue to invest in long-term projects that help us build an even stronger, connected, and more livable West Seattle. It is critical that we implement both short- and long-term improvements while we simultaneously pursue all options available to reopen the high-rise bridge, which is why we are moving forward with this much-needed project along Delridge Way SW to add a new rapid transit line, improve safety, enhance bike infrastructure, and repair roads in poor condition.

If you have concerns about accessibility or other impacts of construction, please send us your address, contact information, and concerns so that we can better understand and work together throughout construction. We are here to help.

Do you live outside the city of Seattle?

Metro is bringing RapidRide amenities and improving service between the Seattle city limits, White Center, and Burien. Additional project funding for these improvements comes from grant sources that Metro has already secured. 

To stay informed or find out more, visit King County Metro’s website.

Milestones and Schedule

Rapid Ride H Development Schedule - we are now at the beginning of the construction phase and are set to end some time in 2021.

Timeline Activities/Milestones
2015 Early community outreach about project
2015-2016 Completed studies and analysis and used community feedback to develop a report on the corridor's existing conditions
2016 Community outreach to receive feedback on community transportation priorities and trade-offs
2017 Shared conceptual options for community feedback
2018 Shared outcome of outreach and technical analysis along with a new conceptual option
2018 Recommended concept moves into design
2019 Final design complete, advertise for construction bids
2020-2022 Construction; SDOT construction scheduled to wrap up in 2022
2023 Metro RapidRide H Line service begins (scheduled)

*Future dates are subject to change.

Materials Library

Construction

Pre-Construction

Design phase

Planning phase

Funding

This project is partially funded by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015. Additional grant funding has been secured and is being sought by both Seattle and King County. Delridge Way SW is one of seven corridors identified in the Levy to see transit improvements. Visit our program website to learn more details.

Transportation

Greg Spotts, Director
Address: 700 5th Ave, Suite 3800, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 34996, Seattle, WA, 98124-4996
Phone: (206) 684-7623
684-Road@seattle.gov

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The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is on a mission to deliver a transportation system that provides safe and affordable access to places and opportunities for everyone as we work to achieve our vision of Seattle as a thriving, equitable community powered by dependable transportation.