Shoreline gets heartburn from 145th costs and roundabout simulator
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Cost overruns and delays caused by Seattle blamed. City will use a roundabout simulator to teach drivers how to navigate the 145th and I-5 interchange.
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| A northbound train enters the station with construction on the Eastside 145th and I-5 interchange roundabout Photo by Oliver J Moffat |
By Oliver J. Moffat
At the June 2 meeting, Shoreline Councilmembers grilled city staff about cost overruns for the 145th Street Project and expressed "heartburn" about a roundabout simulator coming soon. Challenges have extended the 145th roundabout project by 126 working days and it is currently expected to be complete in May 2026.
Staff said that the cost increases were unforeseeable, stemming from delayed utility relocations permitting (PSE, Lumen), delayed temporary relocation of overhead power lines (Seattle City Light), creeping permit requirements from the City of Seattle, and unforeseen WSDOT requirements for traffic control.
Voicing frustration over delays and cost increases caused by the City of Seattle, Councilmember Scully said,
“We are fixing Seattle's road for them using our money. And if we are getting anything other than absolute Platinum plate service from them... I’ve got Bruce Harrell’s phone number. I will call him at 2 in the morning and raise heck.”
After questioning staff, the Shoreline City Council approved an extra $7.5 million for the project, bringing the total to nearly $50 million. Utility companies (PSE, Lumen, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle City Light, Comcast, Shoreline Sewer) are responsible for portions of the cost increases related to their infrastructure, estimated to be an additional $3 million to $3.5 million.
However, the overall project still faces an estimated $4.5 million funding shortfall the city will need to cover.
Some costs were not outside of the city’s control. To help get drivers comfortable with driving the 145th roundabouts, the city commissioned a roundabout simulator.
Councilmember Scully expressed "heartburn" about the roundabout simulator, questioning its value given the significant cost increases with the project.
Councilmember Pobee wanted to know why the city had to eat the costs. “I am wondering: third parties are causing this. Not the contractor, nor the city.” He called the overall increase "excessive.”
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| Trains, traffic, trucks, and diggers are busy at work on the westside 145th and I-5 interchange roundabout Photo by Oliver J Moffat |
Some costs were not outside of the city’s control. To help get drivers comfortable with driving the 145th roundabouts, the city commissioned a roundabout simulator.
Councilmember Scully expressed "heartburn" about the roundabout simulator, questioning its value given the significant cost increases with the project.
“A simulator always caused me heartburn, and especially when we're being asked for 7.5 million more. I really expect to see those kinds of things to get caught,” he said.
The total cost for development, building, staff training, and translation for the roundabout simulator was $66,500. The simulator will be available at City Hall lobby and various events and festivals throughout the summer.
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13 comments:
This should come as a surprise to no one! Perhaps the “No Kings” movement should extend their attention to local government and Sound Transit!
Thank you Councilmembers for the wonderful work”grilling” staff on this Sound Transit adventure.
Please also continue the oversight of costs and impacts to our communities.
The delays at these intersections are excessive often.
We didn't have a robust public process before roundabouts were selected by the state. Now look where we are.
Nobody should be surprised by these cost overruns. The western roundabout required taking down an entire hill. The project is full of buried lines.
An effective city council would have asked probing questions before breaking ground, instead of taking everything on faith from WSDOT.
$66,500 for a video game!! $50+ million for a couple of roundabouts that we did not need nor asked for. The council and their staff need to be investigated for embezzlement!!
I'm a little sad that the roundabouts were needed, but after reviewing the project details I had to concede that roundabouts are the right solution. Other than widening the road, it was the only option that could handle the current traffic volume while offering acceptable reliability for buses.
Considering we are usually playing "catch-up" with our infra-structure and services, give a shout-out to the Seattle City Council member who insisted that light rail plan for a stop at 130th BEFORE IT WAS NEEDED.
I respectfully disagree. The guidelines on using the roundabout say that 2 lanes of traffic on the roundabout are only permissible if there are no buses or large trucks in the roundabout. So that means you’re effectively going to have a single lane exiting the freeway for much of the time. Think about the impact of that on the traffic pattern. And I have driven in Europe a great deal so I know how effective well constructed roundabouts can be. That’s not what the city and state are installing here.
Anyone that has a driver's license in the state of Washington should know how to navigate a roundabout.
Teaching drivers how to use it is an absolute waste of our money. If the State mandates roundabouts, let the state pay for the simulators, or better yet, drivers who dont know how to use them.
It really is OK if people pay for their own education.
The incompetence is astounding. I use this intersection every day. Traffic control is so poorly planed out currantly this is an unusable intersection. Freeway access southbound is in execcisable. I have to drive down to the 130th entrance every day. Exit off mount lake exit. 175th is also terrible due to poor traffic light planing. No right on red. If through traffic we're to be blocked off at 145th. Like it was last year. Most of the issues would be solved.
Someone want to tell me when the last public works project came in under budget and on time since we became a one county political state?
So many tax increases, ZERO problems solved, but I’m open for someone to show me I’m wrong.
For such a rich and educated state, we sure don’t act like it.
While the original stretch of 145th wasn't great, at least traffic flowed reasonably well other than rush hour. I seriously doubt two roundabouts will be better during rush hour. $50M for 2 roundabouts is an embarrassment.
The simulator is kind of a side show (de minimis cost) but if someone with a valid driver's license hasn't figured out how to use a roundabout yet, they probably shouldn't be driving. They aren't exactly exotic these days. Shows the kind of overthinking going on.
I do not care! That intersection has been absolute CRAP for DECADES. So many accidents, ridiculous traffic jams, and foolish hurried drivers.
I support the project. It’s one thing to critique the budget over runs, it’s a whole other thing to complain about the project and pretend a less expensive status quo is an answer. It’s NOT. It’s foolish.
I asked for it. Plus, would you like to sit at a red light for 4 minutes, because of the 1960s engineers that decided colored lights are better to control traffic than this method that uses no electricity?
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