Ellington

The UW Board of Regents approved multiple aspects of the Montlake Triangle Project (MTP) yesterday, including approving a $4 million funding commitment toward the project. In addition, members adopted the project budget at $38 million, though $43 million has been allocated in total to account for potential cost overrun.

Regents allocated authority to Interim President Phyllis Wise to sign construction contracts and a three-party Memorandum of Agreement between involved parties: the UW, Sound Transit, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

In addition to the UW’s $4 million, Sound Transit and WSDOT are funding $12 million and up to $27 million, respectively.

Richard Chapman, associate vice president of the UW Capital Projects Office, said this budget is reasonable.

“I do think it’s an unlikely event we’ll go over $43 million,” he said. “We’ve built into our budget a 3.5 percent per-year [padding] for escalation.”

Chapman also introduced another agreement at the meeting, which would involve five parties. In addition to Sound Transit, UW and WSDOT, this nonbinding contract includes King County Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). Neither Metro nor SDOT are sponsoring the project, but they are critical partners.

“These are the five key parties that are required to make this project a success,” Chapman said.

The MTP consists of three subprojects that will occur sequentially: constructing the pedestrian bridge, building the Rainer Vista Land Bridge, and finally, landscaping and designing the land bridge.

Sound Transit will manage the pedestrian bridge project, which is budgeted at $11.4 million and will connect the Husky Stadium light-rail station to the Montlake Triangle. It will also have a separate bicycle and pedestrian ramp, which will be accessible at Montlake Boulevard Northeast.

Rebecca Barnes, the university architect, hopes this bridge will make traveling for pedestrians and bicyclists safer.

“[The bridge will allow] greater safety for pedestrians and bikes crossing [Northeast] Pacific Place,” she said. “[They will be] able to cross the bridge without having to challenge the traffic.”

The university will manage the two parts of the Rainier Vista project, which will cost $25.3 million combined. Chapman said crews will lower Northeast Pacific Place, raise the top of the Montlake Triangle, create a road to connect Stevens Way and the UW Triangle Garage, and assemble a land bridge from Rainier Vista to the Montlake Triangle.

The project is scheduled to be completed by 2015 with finishing touches, such as landscaping, lighting and irrigation, costing $4.5 million.

Chapman’s office is addressing potential risks, including not being able to terminate the project after construction begins in 2012. Unknown conditions of construction areas could also present prospective hazards.

“The Triangle Garage is a 30-plus-year structure, lowering Pacific Place exposes a wall that was meant to be contained into a wall … but we think we know what’s under it,” he said.

In the end, though, Barnes believes the project will be more visually appealing than the triangle looks currently and added that the land bridge “completes the vision” of how the UW wants the location to look.

“[This is an] opportunity not just to retrofit with adding a station to this location but re-envision the whole place,” she said. “So it is sufficient to the identities of these important destinations and institutions.”

Reach reporter Daron Anderson at news@dailyuw.com.