Island Crest Way Repaving Complete, Says City

The repaving of Island Crest Way was completed on schedule this week, with crews placing over 4000 tons of hot mix asphalt on Tuesday and Wednesday along the mile-long project area, according to a press release.

on Tuesday were long at times, but the work was wrapped up before most of the evening commuters came home. On Wednesday, traffic volumes were lighter, likely due to many Islanders opting to travel East and West Mercer Ways to avoid the paving.

"Traffic delays from now until the project is finished will be minor compared to what has occurred over the last two weeks with the pavement grinding and paving," said City Street Engineer Clint Morris. "Thank you again for your patience over the last eight weeks."

On Thursday, road crews paved the side street connections along the project, with the exception of the east side of SE 47th Street and 90th Avenue. These two streets approaches will be paved as part of the 2012 Residential Street Overlay project (which paves 88th Avenue, SE 47th Street, and 90th Avenue), set to begin after Labor Day.

For next week, the contractor will likely be raising utility structures (manholes, catch basins, water valve boxes) to the grade of the new street. This will require jack hammering some of the new pavement around these castings in order to raise them. This is a necessary part of the repaving process, as these utility covers provide access to our sewer, water, and drainage systems. Adjusting these covers ahead of the paving is problematic, because that forces the paving crew to match them, which in turn can lead to a bumpy or wavy riding pavement, as the paving machine dips or rises to meet them. Paving over these various utility covers and raising them up later produces a better riding roadway, but it means some small patches in the new road are seen. Also happening next week will be some shoulder gravelling and other cleanup activities along the project.

New pavement markings will be installed the week of August 27, and will likely take at least three days to complete. The mailbox drop off area near 90th Avenue will also be finished with some minor concrete curb and sidewalk work, finish a handful of asphalt sidewalk and driveway areas, and install and move some signs.

For more information or any concerns about traffic control, detours, and delays on the project, contact City Street Engineer Clint Morris at clint.morris@mercergov.org.