A piece of Fremont transit history quietly ended this weekend when the northbound transit stop at Fremont Ave N and N 34th St permanently shifted to two locations: Route 40 in front of the Lenin statue at Fremont Place N, and Routes 31, 32, and 62 at N 35th St near the library.
The change is part of the Route 40 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project, which continues construction through Fremont and Ballard.
According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Fremont Ave N and N 34th St stop existed since the late 1800s. Local historian Valarie Bunn has traced transit at that intersection to 1890, when it served as a major streetcar transfer point connecting riders to the Woodland Park and Green Lake lines. The nearby Waiting for the Interurban statue at 34th and Fremont Ave commemorates the neighborhood’s long role as a transit hub. Due to a new protected bike lane, this historic stop shifted March 28.
With the new stops come improvements, such as wider sidewalks. Benches, shelter, lighting and a real time digital display sign will be installed soon, according to SDOT.
The temporary southbound stop on the Fremont Bridge will remain until construction is completed. It will then return to Fremont Ave N and N 34th St.
Crews have also begun pavement restoration work following recent trenching and curb replacement across several Fremont intersections. New sidewalk construction is underway on N 36th St between 2nd Ave NW and Evanston Ave N.
Looking ahead, Fremont Ave N will be reduced to one lane in each direction in the coming weeks as crews begin full-depth pavement upgrades.
As Fremonsters have already experienced in the last year, travelers through the area should continue to expect temporary lane shifts, short-term lane reductions, and typical construction noise. SDOT says the Route 40 project work should wrap up sometime this year but couldn’t specifically say when. Check out the Route 40 project page for the latest updates.
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