MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — A new traffic signal is planned along 44th Avenue W. near Mountlake Terrace High School.
Construction of the signal, located at the three-way intersection where 214th Street SW meets 44th Avenue W., is expected to start in late October and be completed by late December, traffic engineer Janet Hall said.
The City Council last week approved a $313,700 contract with low bidder Precision Earthworks, Inc. of Mukilteo.
Hall said the project was originally estimated to cost $550,000. A competitive bidding environment for road projects resulted in a high bid of about $400,000, she said.
The work will include two new crosswalks, light signals and re-routing of a driveway shared by an apartment complex and Mt. Zion Lutheran Church off 44th Avenue W.
Hall said the signal will be coordinated with two other existing signals at the intersection of 212th Street SW and 44th Avenue W and in front of the high school to help traffic flow better along 44th Avenue W.
“We’ll be running fiber optics to connect them,” she said.
The traffic signals will come equipped with something new for the city — what Hall described as “audible, vibro-tactile push buttons,” to assist the visually-impaired.
“They’ll have a raised arrow so you can feel the arrow, you don’t have to see it,” she said.
Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429; ohalpert@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
