The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will be closing northbound I-5 between the Boeing Access Road and I-90 over the next three weekend nights, so they can install some 95 high-tech “Smarter Highways” readerboard signs.

The new signs, being introduced first on northbound I-5 then on SR-520 this summer are the latest smarter highway technology aimed at increasing safety, reducing collisions and reducing congestion. To learn more, visit the project Web site: www.smarterhighways.com.

Crews will close northbound I-5 between Boeing Access Road and Spokane Street beginning at 11:59 p.m. on the following nights:

• Friday, April 16
• Saturday, April 17
• Friday, April 23
• Saturday, April 24
• Friday, April 30
• Saturday, May 1

Signed detours will be in place to guide drivers northbound on Airport Way and back to I-5. Drivers should expect delays or take alternate routes.

Here’s a mockup photo of what the new signs will look like:

Photos courtesy WSDOT.

For more details visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/ActiveTrafficManagement/map.htm.

Artist James M. Harrison stands next to a model of his "Sun Pavilion" in front of the area where construction workers were installing the framing at Burien Town Square.

Friday (Mar. 6th) on SW 152nd at Burien Town Square, construction workers started installing the steel framing for “Sun Pavilion” (aka “Helios Pavilion”), a 30-foot tall sculpture by Northwest artist James M. Harrison.

Harrison’s artwork is being built between the new City Hall and the Burien Town Square buildings, and is a giant steel “basket” that can be entered; a woven sculpture. He hopes the piece will look good against the skyline, the mountains, the existing buildings, and the long western sun.

One of the more interesting aspects of this sculpture are elements toward the top that denotes “a straight line from Mt. Rainier through Burien and continue it, it crosses through the site of the old Bering Land Bridge- the migration route to the Americas.”

According to Harrison’s website:

My work as an artist involves exploring the realm between sculpture and architecture.

I am fascinated by the seemingly simple act of how to build things – and I am an experimentalist at heart.

I like to make light beacons and towers and other repositories of myths.

My passion is building large strange things, and I consider making sculpture a way to study the world.

Here are some other photos of both the installation work as well a model of the sculpture:

12/27/08 UPDATE: Due to weather conditions, the installation of the sculpture The Passage into Burien’s Town Square (BTB Advertiser) has been POSTPONED from Sat. Jan, 3rd to Saturday, January 24th, starting at 3pm

The Passage, a sculpture depicting a Mother/Daughter, will be installed at the Burien/ Interim Art Space, a year-long experiment combining and transforming the concepts of art, temporary green spaces, and community gathering.

According to Kathy Justin:

“The opening ceremnony for the B/ IAS project and The Passage has been postponed because of the weather.

The new date is set for Saturday January 24th starting at 3pm.”

The Passage is a sculpture depicting a mother and child walking together to share and explore life, and was first created by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito for the 2005 Burning Man Arts Festival. The figures stand a dramatic 30′ and 20′ tall and are fabricated out of recycled and scrap metal.

Here are two videos that will give you a better idea of exactly what’s coming to Burien:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The interim art space will occupy a temporarily vacant one-acre parcel of Burien’s Town Square project:

This exciting space will not only showcase art, but will be an energetic gathering place for Burien’s citizens. B/ IAS will be a working canvas that will be transformed by the efforts of both artists and the community throughout the year. The project will conclude a year later when the sculpture is removed and construction begins on another phase of the Town Square.

B/ IAS is a collaboration between Ignition Northwest, Burien Arts Commission, 4Culture, Urban Partners and GGLO.

To Volunteer, Create, or to Work a plot of land on the B/ IAS Project please email info@interim-art-space.com.

For more information, visit the website here.

To Donate to the project

Click here to view the embedded video.

In Warmth, Giant Black Toobs, Robb uses solar power and ambient breezes to give life to the ever-present black plastic garbage bag:

• Giant polypropylene garbage bags, 50 feet tall by 30 inches in diameter, are inflated with air by allowing the wind to fill them or by running with them
• One end is staked to the ground; the other end is free
• The sun does the rest
• Employing a similar principle to that of hot air balloons, the sun heats the air inside the toobs, and since hot air is less dense than cold air, the toobs become buoyant!

Pretty cool stuff, but what would you expect from such an artist haven as Burien?