06 Jan Metro rerouting buses in Pioneer Square and Sodo

Two construction projects began Monday, Jan. 3 that created temporary reroutes for several King County Metro Transit bus routes that normally travel on First Avenue South through Pioneer Square and the SODO area of Seattle.

Then in February, those buses – and others – will have new long-term routing.

The reroutes starting Monday will affect Metro routes: 21, 22, 56, 57, 85, 99, 116, 118, and 119. They will not serve any southbound stops on First Avenue South between Cherry/Washington streets and South Atlantic Street. Northbound bus service will not be affected.

Details for each route can be found at: www.kingcounty.gov/metro/alerts under the “construction and events” heading.

Starting Feb. 5, Metro will make long-term street and/or stop changes for about two dozen bus routes serving downtown Seattle to keep people moving during the multi-year construction in downtown Seattle and the SODO area. The February changes affect routes: 15, 15X, 16, 18, 18X, 21, 21X, 22, 23, 26, 26X, 27, 28, 28X, 37, 56, 56X, 57, 66X, 81, 85, 99, 111, 114, 116X, 118X, 119X, 124, 143, 157, and 161.

Construction work for the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement and Seawall Program and other projects on Seattle streets have the potential to slow down bus travel and make schedules less reliable. The projects downtown and in the SODO area are expected to be lengthy and disruptive to traffic. Although the road closures and construction projects will be phased over many years, Metro thinks it is best for bus riders if their routes change as few times as possible.

With that in mind, starting with the transit service change on Feb. 5, Metro will divert much of its First Avenue service away from that street between Edgar Martinez Drive and Broad Street. Most relocated bus routes will move to Third Avenue. There will also be some changes for bus travel on Second and Fourth avenues, as some routes are moved there to accommodate the bus changes on First and Third.

Buses, trains, vanpools and carpools will be good options for people who must travel to and through these areas – along with telecommuting, biking, and walking.

More about the Feb. 5 bus routing changes can be found on Metro Online at: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/projects/viaduct-SODO.html, and with the service change brochure and online information that will be available later in January.