Arterial Street Paving

Each year, the City of Seattle allocates funds for arterial paving. Seattle Department of Transportation monitors the conditions of City streets and selects the streets to be paved.

The larger part of the arterial paving funds is used for work bid out to private contractors. Seattle Department of Transportation’s own street paving crews perform small, spot paving projects on arterial streets.

In addition to the streets included in Seattle Department of Transportation's annual paving program, some streets are paved as part of projects that include general street improvements.  For example, street paving is included in the University Way NE Multi-modal project, which also includes underground utilities, sidewalks, street lighting, landscaping, and other urban design elements.

Bridging The Gap Paving Project Information & Maps

In November, 2006, the voters of Seattle passed a $365 million levy for transportation maintenance and improvements. The levy proceeds, combined with a commercial parking tax and an employee hours tax, dramatically increase available funds for arterial paving as well as other needed infrastructure maintenance.

In March of 2008 the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an accelerated paving plan so that downtown streets will be completed by 2012 when the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project begins. With the costs of materials escalating, the accelerated plan is also key to ensuring funds are utilized efficiently in repairing the major routes serving downtown.

Click here to view the city paving list (revised 3/2008)

Click here to view the city paving map (revised 3/2008)

Click here to view the downtown paving map (revised 1/2008)

Find out more about Bridging the Gap here.


Catch Basins and Inlet Drain Maintenance

Seattle Public Utilities is responsible for street drainage. To ask about these topics, call 386-1800.



Chip Seal Program (re-stabilization and reseal)

One fourth of Seattle's nonarterial streets are "chip seal," a relatively inexpensive street surface treatment for streets with low volumes of traffic. To ask about chip seal, call 396-3556.

Follow this link for more information about our chip seal program.



Flooding Response

Seattle Public Utility crews take care of street flooding and clogged catch basins or inlets. To request this service, call 386-1800.



Funding for Street Improvements

The City of Seattle pays for work on streets, bridges, and other parts of the transportation system with from a variety of sources. They include federal and state grants, (gas tax revenues), local fees, and the City 's General Fund. Federal and state grants must be matched with local funds.

The City of Seattle found itself behind in street maintenance in the early 1990's. There was a growing backlog of street paving, and residents began experiencing a proliferation of potholes as the pavement continued to age and fail. The funding sources available for this work were not keeping up with the inflation and the growing needs of the City. Less apparent but just as urgent, the City's other transportation infrastructure components, such as its bridges and traffic signals, were also aging and in need of major repair.

The funding situation became critical on November 2, 1995, when the State Supreme Court ruled that the City of Seattle's residential Street Utility Fee was actually a property tax and as such was unconstitutional. A total of $12 million had already been collected since 1992. This money with interest was returned to the payers, and the fee was discontinued.

A 1996 Citizens' Transportation Advisory Committee (a citizen committee) recommended increasing the funds available for street paving and other major maintenance needs of Seattle's Department of Transportation system. The committee recommended increasing the amount of General Fund allocated for transportation programs.

The City has increased local funding support for transportation dramatically since 1996. In 2002 the local funding support is $60.7 million, a $25.8 million increase over 1996. Almost half of this was designated for street resurfacing and improvement projects and the filling of potholes. The remainder was used for traffic control devices and the correction of traffic safety problems, and a small amount went for improving pedestrian walkways and stairways.



Transportation Strategic Plan

SDOT Annual Report, Transportation Strategic Plan


Street Maintenance and Paving

Grass & Weed Cutting Along Street Shoulders

Property owners are responsible for taking care of the sides of the street that are adjacent to their property. Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintenance crews maintain these areas at locations that are adjacent to public property. Seattle Department of Transportation's landscape crews maintain formally planted areas on major arterials or when adjacent to public property, such as along a bridge or a public stairway. For questions about overgrowth adjacent to private property, call the Department of Design, Construction and Land Use at 684-7899. Otherwise, call Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintenance at 386-1218.



Inventory of Seattle Street Surfaces

Engineers often measure pavement by lane miles. A two-lane street that is one mile long has two lane miles, and a four-lane street that is one mile long has four lane miles.

Total Streets - 3,745 lane miles

Arterial Streets - 1,245 lane miles - 100%
Concrete - 395 lane miles - 32%
Asphalt - 850 lane miles - 68%

Non-arterial Streets - 2,500 lane miles - 100%
Concrete - 1,286 lane miles - 51%
Asphalt - 589 lane miles - 24%
Chip seal - 510 lane miles - 24%
Low cost surface - 15 lane miles - less than 1%

Pavement Condition Report


Landslide Response and Repair

Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintenance crews clear debris from the roadways and bridges and oversee repairs to protect them in the future. Call 386-1218. Seattle Public Utilities takes care of landslides that are not in street areas that involve water, drainage or sewer facilities. Call 386-1230. The Department of Planning and Development inspects private property that is damaged by a landslide. Call 684-5362. The Department of Parks and Recreation takes care of landslide damage on Park property. Call 684-4075. These departments work together when landslides involve elements that pertain to more than one department.

Follow this link for more information about our landslide program.




Leaf Cleanup and Removal

Property owners are responsible for removing and disposing fallen leaves on their property and from the sidewalks adjacent to their property. Seattle Department of Transportation Street Maintenance crews perform limited leaf cleanup in the fall in areas with the most street trees.


Litter Receptacle Service

City owned Litter Receptacles are the responsibility of Seattle Public Utilities and they contract the work out to private garbage haulers. Contact Litter Can Hotline: 206-615-1700 at SPU with questions or concerns. King County Metro Transit takes care of the receptacles located at bus stops.

Find out more



More about Potholes

Potholes are a symptom of "failed" pavement. Often the cause is the combined effect of water seeping through cracks in the pavement weakening the subbase beneath, and the weight of traffic on the surface, causing the asphalt to break away. Many potholes develop following heavy rains. Cycles of freezing and thawing temperatures can create major stress on pavement when the subbase under the pavement is saturated with moisture, resulting in potholes. More traffic, buses and heavy trucks also cause greater wear on the pavement.

When a street is very worn, more and bigger potholes often occur. The street then must be totally reconstructed, from the subgrade to the surface. This is much more expensive and takes much longer than simply replacing the top layer of asphalt (resurfacing).

To report a pothole or similar street defect within the City of Seattle, please see the street maintenance form, or for streets north of Denny Way call 684-7508, and for streets south of Denny Way, call 386-1218.



Non-arterial Street Paving

Seattle Department of Transportation generally does not pave non-arterial streets. Public funding available for this purpose is mostly used for work on arterial streets which are a higher priority due to the greater amount of traffic on these streets and the importance to the community of keeping them in good condition. However, Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintenance crews do maintain non-arterial streets, such as filling potholes.

There are a few exceptions to this policy of not paving non-arterial streets using public funds. There are limited funds for paving of portions of non-arterial streets used for "bus turnarounds" due to the extraordinary wear they receive. Several concrete and asphalt non-arterial streets are resurfaced each year under this program.

One fourth of the City's non-arterial streets are not considered "paved," (traditional asphalt or concrete surfaces) but rather are "chip-sealed." This is a relatively low-cost surface treatment for unpaved streets made of a thin layer of asphalt topped with chipped rock set in an asphalt emulsion. Seattle Department of Transportation is on a cycle of resealing these streets every 10 years.

For more information on non-arterial street paving, contact Gerard Green, 206-684-0937, or send an e-mail to Gerard.Green@seattle.gov.



Pavement Management

Seattle has 3,946 12-foot wide lane miles of streets. The busiest streets, the arterials, account for approximately 1,534 of the total network 12-ft-wide lane miles. SDOT manages its pavements by regularly assessing condition, analyzing budget needs, performing routine maintenance and undertaking major paving projects. Seattle's streets are in good condition, but there is a large and growing amount of deferred maintenance. Deferred maintenance is work that is postponed to a future budget cycle, or until funds are available. When maintenance is deferred, streets deteriorate to the point where repairs are more costly.

The City of Seattle uses a scoring system to indicate the conditions of street pavement. The categories and their percentages as of a 2003 survey of arterial streets are shown below:

CONDITION - % OF STREET

Excellent - 24%
Very Good - 28%
Good - 19%
Fair - 13%
Poor - 10%
Very Poor - 6%

No funds have been available for years to assess the condition of non-arterial streets; therefore no current condition information is available.

SDOT evaluates the condition of Seattle's streets and uses that and other information to establish priorities for street surface maintenance and rehabilitation. When selecting streets each year to be paved, the engineers consider:

Pothole Rangers - A Better Way to Repair Potholes

The City of Seattle purchased four "hot boxes" for repairing potholes in 1997 and 1998. These are trucks fitted with boxes on the back that keep the asphalt material hot. The hot boxes keep asphalt mix hot for efficient and longer lasting pothole repairs, in contrast with the "cold mix" which often does not last long. This equipment and the crews that operate it are dubbed the "Pothole Rangers."

A hot box and crew are assigned to each quadrant of the City. Every day they receive a list of reported potholes. They schedule their work so they take care of all the potholes reported in one area at the same time. They also look for unreported potholes on arterial streets.



Service Request Form

North of Denny Way
South of Denny Way and Other Areas
Traffic Signs/Signals - All City Locations



Snow and Ice Response

Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintance crews clear away snow and ice, giving priority to major arterials. To ask about snow and ice removal, call 386-1218.

Follow this link for more information about our snow and ice program.



Spillage Cleanup

In general, Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintenance crews clean up spills in the street. When requested by Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Department of Transportation's Street Maintenance crews also clean up material that has been illegally dumped. If the material is considered hazardous, a contractor is asked to clean the spill. To report spills, call 386-1218.



Street Cleaning

For street cleaning concerns north of Denny Way, call 684-7508. For streets south of Denny Way, call 386-1218.



Street Sweeping

SDOT Street Maintenance crews sweep major arterials on a regular basis, ranging from daily to every two weeks, depending on the need. Most minor arterials are swept once a month; some are swept only when requested. SDOT does not routinely sweep nonarterial streets, but does limited leaf cleaning in the fall. If you live on a non arterial street and you feel there is litter and debris that is causing a public health concern you can contact our field office to request an inspection to determine if sweeping can be performed. Because of their heavy use, downtown streets are swept every night, and alleys are cleaned five nights a week. They are hand-cleaned and flushed once per week. The crews usually sweep the streets at night. They also clean streets after parades and other special events. To find out more about street sweeping, call SDOT Street Maintenance at (206) 684-7508 for street cleaning concerns north of Denny Way or (206) 386-1218 for streets south of Denny Way.



Sink Holes - A Street Maintenance Emergency

Sink holes are generally larger and deeper than pot holes. They are usually caused by a source of water under the pavement, such as a broken pipe. The water causes the soil to wash away, creating a void under the pavement, and eventually the pavement gives away.

When sink holes are big, they can be hazardous to drivers and pedestrians. Seattle Department of Transportation encourages the public to report significant sink holes on Seattle streets immediately. For streets north of Denny Way, call 684-7508, and for streets south of Denny Way, call 386-1218.