Surveying error forces SDOT to redo Airport Way bike lane curbs

Mar 18, 2026, 4:30 PM

A person bikes on a two-way protected bike lane on Airport Way South. (Photo courtesy of SDOT)

(Photo courtesy of SDOT)

KIRO Newsradio traffic reporter

A KIRO Newsradio listener reached out to me recently, asking about the new protected bike lanes on Seattle’s Airport Way.

The lanes opened just a few months ago.

The listener told me the concrete curb protecting the two-way bike lane was being torn up by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), and wanted to know what was happening.

It turns out SDOT made a surveying error in a small section of Airport Way, where the road narrows slightly. Trucks and other big rigs were having trouble negotiating the road without hitting the concrete curbing.

City narrowing bike lanes on Airport Way

The city is now tearing out about 500 feet of curb between South Edmunds Street and South Alaska Street. It is narrowing the bike lanes by about a foot.

The newly installed curbs should be finished soon.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

Follow @https://twitter.com/newsguysully

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