Greenroads Pilot Project

Mercer Corridor East - Phase I

 

Summary

Owner: City of Seattle, WA
Contract Price: $47.1 Million
Project Length: 0.4 miles
Functional Class: Arterial
Greenroads Pilot Program Score: 48 Points

Description

The Mercer Corridor East Phase I-Fairview to Dexter Avenue project is a critical connector between the downtown business areas and the surrounding neighborhoods.  The project is intended to reconstruct pavements, replace infrastructure and utilities, increase mobility and transportation with improved modal access, improve congestion and safety, integrate land development, and strengthen economic connections. More information is available at the project website.

Lessons

This project is a good example of what we call a successful "Hail Mary" Pilot Project conversion. The Mercer Corridor East Phase Project began as a pilot project right around the time the project was going to bid and was scored originally by students at the University of Washington in 2010, prior to the launch of Greenroads Foundation. In 2013, the project was re-scored by Greenroads Foundation and the owner, the Seattle DOT, decided to pursue Certification as a result of considering the Pilot Project score, and what a Certification might mean to the City of Seattle.

While this project was successful in the conversion effort, resulting in 4 Bronze Certified projects and 1 Silver Certification (revised), it did not achieve its expected score from the Pilot Project Rating (Silver) throughout the program's individual segments. Why?

You can read more about the nothing-short-of heroic efforts required to certify this project at the last minute on each of the individual project pages.

Groundbreaking

Mercer Sign

Mercer Site

Mercer Preloading Material

Mercer Project Schedule