Watched a city planner in Bothell explain the new crosswalk signals at 522 and it finally clicked why they took 8 months

I drove through that intersection last Tuesday and saw the old lights were gone and the new pedestrian phases actually sync with the bus schedule now, and the planner told me the delay was because they had to reroute 3 underground utilities first, has anyone else noticed the timing difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_williams51mo ago

Honestly, when you said it took 8 months because they had to reroute 3 underground utilities first, that really makes me wonder. Were those utilities just in the way of the new signal wiring, or did they actually find something old and unexpected down there? Tbh, it feels like every time they dig up a street these days they hit some mystery pipe or cable from the 70s that nobody mapped. Ngl, I'd love to know if the rerouting added months because of unexpected discoveries. It just seems like that kind of hidden mess is what really drags these projects out, not the actual signal work.

dylanmurray1mo ago

Yeah that "mystery pipe from the 70s" part really clicked for me @margaret_williams5, I used to just blame the city but now I get it.

thomas_martinez1mo ago

Wait, didn't your friend on the East Side have that exact same thing happen with the signal project on Elm St last year? They dug up some old gas line that wasn't on any map and the whole thing got held up for months while the utility company figured out whose it was.