New pier finished at 24th Ave NW

Crews have finished creating a new pier at 24th Ave NW as part of the project to improve water quality in the Ship Canal.

Seattle Public Utilities is at the helm of the massive Ship Canal Water Quality Project, which involves building a 2.7-mile, 18-foot-wide tunnel that will capture and temporarily hold polluted stormwater and sewage that overflows during heavy rains.

Next, the contractor will be removing contaminated soils from the site at the 24th Ave NW street-end to prepare for the tunnel excavation. SPU says that once the soil removal starts, soils will be taken away by trains and trucks.

The storage tunnel construction will include the creation of building the tunnel between Wallingford and Ballard, building five drop shafts, and another small tunnel from Fremont to Queen Anne underneath the Ship Canal. Construction is expected to start in Ballard by fall — SPU will start accepting contractor bids in June.

For more on the project and its background, click here.