One of the most dangerous stretches of roads in King County is in the annexation neighborhood of Juanita. Next May, the King County Department of Transportation (KCDOT) plans to do construction in hopes of fixing the problem.
The segment of 100th Avenue N.E. between N.E. 132nd Street, a main cross street, and NE 138th Place, just past the Safeway, has been identified as a High Accident Road Segment (HARS). HARS is a 1,000-foot stretch with nine or more collisions during a three-year period.
“The Department has completed three HARS lists over the years; one in 1996, one in 2002 and one in 2007,” said Norton J. Posey, King County traffic engineer. “The segment … was identified as a HARS on all three HARS lists.”
An analysis of 2003-2005 identified 25 recorded collisions along the section. The most recent data from 2006-2008, which has not yet been put into a new HARS list, shows 46 recorded collisions for this same segment of 100th Avenue N.E.
Posey said KCDOT has been monitoring the stretch since 1996 and implemented a first phase of accident management in 2002.
“King County installed signs restricting left turns, by time of day, out of certain driveways,” said Posey. “After looking at the recent accident patterns, the signs were not as effective as we had hoped, so we have moved to the next phase of access management.”
That next phase will begin with installing curbing and median islands this spring.
“The current 30 percent design plans propose three landscaped medians along 100th Avenue N.E. between the intersections of Juanita-Woodinville Way N.E. and NE 137th Street,” said Posey. “The existing left turn lanes along 100th Avenue N.E. at the intersections of NE 132nd Street, Juanita-Woodinville Way N.E. and N.E. 137th Street will still exist.”
Posey said the county has been working closely with the community, business owners and City of Kirkland on the project. KCDOT staff has met with business owners along 100th Ave N.E. to share with them the specifics of the project and get their input. They have also invited comments through open house meeting mailings.
Construction impacts to the existing businesses should be minimal.
“There will be occasional one-lane closures on 100th Avenue N.E., but these would be during the working day only and no business driveways will be closed during construction,” said Posey. “The contractor will be instructed to stay off the roadway during the AM and PM peak hour commute so delays to the traveling public should be minimal.”
The goal of project organizers is to start construction around the middle of May 2011 and have construction completed by the end of July 2011.
