Nighttime stormwater work on E Madison could be loud

As work on the Madison Valley Stormwater Project moves onto E Madison St, expect weeks of lane closures, no parking zones and noise. Seattle Public Utilities updated residents on the project’s work plan March 26 at Luc, near the future work site.

If all goes according to schedule, work on·E Madison St near 29th Ave E should take three weeks, including two weeks of night work Monday-Thursday. SPU needs to tear up part of the road on the north side in order to install the new stormwater pipe, catch basins and other components of the project. They then have to repave.


The loudest work will be between 8 and 10 p.m. The contractor will use quiet generators with barriers around them in order to minimize the noise, according to a handout by SPU (for more, see the project web page). There will also be a 24-hour hotline (206-455-5345) if the noise becomes intolerable. After speaking with hotline staff, they will talk to the night work supervisor, who will investigate the problem and determine if workers can resolve the issue. The caller will then be called back to relay the planned resolution.

The construction is part of the second phase of a large stormwater project that is estimated to cost $24-33 million when it is finished. Once the new system is in place, SPU hopes to prevent flooding in Madison Valley, which has been a chronic problem for many residents. The city settled a lawsuit by a group of Madison Valley homeowners for $2.5 million in November. As part of the settlement, the city did not admit fault in the chronic flooding the plaintiffs experienced. In 2008, the city also paid $2.8 million to the life partner of Kate Fleming, who drowned in her Madison Valley basement during a flash flood.

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