NW 36th Street, between Leary Way NW and 3rd Avenue NW, quietly reopened last week to cars and pedestrians. The street had been closed as part of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project.
The reopening also gives Fremont its first full look at “Release the Kraken,” a new mural by artist Justin Gibbens painted directly onto the large gooseneck air vents at the site. The piece features colorful tentacles from a Giant Pacific Octopus reaching up and wrapping around the two vents.
The murals are part of a broader public art program tied to the SCWQP, which also includes Preston Singletary and David Franklin’s large-scale glass and steel canoe paddle sculptures installed along the Ship Canal last year.
The water quality project still has work ahead, including the final connection to the Ballard Pump Station and making the storage tunnel operational. Once completed, the project is expected to prevent an estimated 75 million gallons of untreated stormwater and sewage from entering the canal each year.
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