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Signs like this are commonplace these days:
As contractors wind up the road repair and construction season, the Highway 20 traffic round is almost complete, the McGargile/Highway 9 improvements are nearly complete, and other projects around town are racing to beat the weather changes. 
Highway 20 traffic round traveling east.The City of Sedro-Woolley changed the downtown closures of Metcalf Street slightly, to accommodate some downtown events. Here is the schedule as most recently issued by the City Public Works department: "Stage 1: Beginning October 5th and lasting approximately two weeks, Metcalf Street from Ferry Street to the bowling alley (see map) will be closed and fenced off from curb to curb. Access will be maintained on sidewalks for pedestrians only during this time. The intersection of Metcalf and Ferry will also be closed. The contractor will dig up and lower sewer lines in one location.Stage 2: Beginning October 19th and lasting approximately three weeks, Metcalf Street from State Street to Woodworth Street (see map) will be closed and fenced off from curb to curb. Access will be maintained on sidewalks for pedestrians only during this time. The contractor will dig up and lower sewer lines in two locations." So Phase 1 is coming along - I was out of town last weekend and I apparently missed the part where there was a big hole in the ground. Today it is largely filled in. See photo. But the intersection of Metcalf and Ferry was closed to traffic today and that causes a lot of confusion. I was walking!
Phase 2 starts next week and is expected to last three weeks. Thus interrupting the Halloween Parade! This year Halloween falls on a Saturday, and the parade will commence at 2:00 in the afternoon instead of at dusk (as it has in other years). And the route will be different, pretty much all taking place from west to east on Ferry. This is big news in Sedro-Woolley, as the kidlets get to trick-or-treat the downtown merchants and we don't want anybody falling in the Big Hole In The Street!! Today was blustery and cooler. Tonight there is a 100% chance of rain and more winds. Every year we have a wind and rain storm in October that ushers in the seasonal weather. Looks like this is it! There's a low pressure area off the coast and the wind is blowing from east to west to fill it in. Leaves are skidding east on Ferry street today. But not all the leaves are down yet. And in the downtown core, when there is a big windstorm, we find a lot of funny things in our yards. I lost a roll of plastic backsplash one time, that I had staged on the porch for a contractor. Another time I found one of our lawn chair cushions about a block away, totally by accident. I was driving down the street, I saw this big green thing, and I said, "That looks like mine." It was. I get a lot of miscellaneous debris in the yard. Nothing interesting. Sure hope this wind brings the rest of those filberts down!More as it develops.
We're about halfway through the eastbound closure of Highway 20, with traffic being diverted through downtown (from Hwy 20, Ferry to Metcalf, left on Metcalf and back to Hwy 20). Many of the parking spaces at the intersection of Metcalf and Ferry have been orange-barrelled-off and at 4:30 today when I came back into town there was a traffic control officer at the intersection, trying to facilitate traffic flow. Today I received an e'mail from the S-W Chamber of Commerce, which includes a press release from the city, announcing the closure of Metcalf, in sections (after the Hwy 20 reroute is complete), to re-do the big sewer project that was completed during summer 2008. Per the Public Works information release, Metcalf Street (the main business street downtown) will be closed to traffic from State Street to Woodworth Street starting September 28th for approximately three weeks. That's phase 1. Phase 2 closes Metcalf from Ferry Street (Hammer Heritage Square) to the old bowling alley for approximately two weeks starting October 19th. The big sewer project last year was not entirely successful and repairs are needed. Last year when the sewer line was "staged" at ground level before being sunk, it looked like Nessie was moving to Sedro-Woolley. We could have painted the line and added a papier mache head and created a tourist attraction. Too bad I thought of it now...Here's my new idea - if you're in Skagit County and want to help out the merchants in S-W, come on over during the big dig and have breakfast, lunch, or dinner at one of the many downtown restaurants! And do a little shopping while you're here. Hardware, fabric, videos, nail salon services, thrift shopping, and several other choices are all at your fingertips. The downtown area will truly need support during this time. Then make plans to attend some of the fun events that will help us close out the year in November and December. I'll post a list later.Here is the page containing official news release from the city:http://www.ci.sedro-woolley.wa.us/Home/main.htmLook for "Metcalf Street Closure Notice" - it's in pdf format.The parking on Metcalf is a small percentage of the parking available downtown. So be fearless and come on over! I'll take pictures. I know you're eager to see photos of sewer line repairs!
