New temporary public art has been installed near the Ship Canal Water Quality Project construction area at 24th Avenue NW and NW 56th Street.
The mural panels, titled Net Cord Landscapes, are part of an art series called FLOW and were created by multidisciplinary artist Amanda Lee. Lee said the work takes inspiration from “reef net fishing and the nettles that provide the fibers,” referencing Ballard’s fishing and maritime history.
Lee specializes in printmaking, book arts, and photography. According to her website, her work explores the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems with print media and book art theory.
The art arrives as work continues on the Ship Canal Water Quality Project, which is being built by Seattle Public Utilities and the King County Wastewater Treatment Division. The project is intended to reduce the amount of polluted stormwater and sewage entering the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Salmon Bay, and Lake Union.
A 7-foot-diameter tunnel boring machine recently turned west onto NW 56th Street after tunneling beneath 24th Avenue NW. It is now moving toward the intersection of 28th Avenue NW and NW 56th Street, where it is expected to arrive later this year.
Crews have also begun installing pipe connections and drainage structures at 28th Avenue NW and NW 56th Street.
Work is continuing along 24th Avenue NW, NW 56th Street, and 28th Avenue NW. Residents can expect parking restrictions, intermittent road closures, local-access-only areas, construction noise and dust, detours, truck traffic, and increased traffic on surrounding streets.
At the project’s pump station, crews are installing electrical systems, structural components, and wall insulation. A discharge pipe has also been installed across Shilshole Avenue NW, with utility work in and around the street expected to continue for the next few months.
Project staff will have a table at the Ballard Regional Center Plan drop-in session at the Ballard Branch of the Seattle Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is open to the public.
Photo: Seattle Public Utilities