West Seattle, Washington
01 Sunday
In less than two weeks, it’ll be quite a spectacle along West Seattle (and other) shores, so you might as well get ready now. The ship above, the Jumbo Fairpartner, set sail hours ago from Osaka, Japan, carrying “Bertha,” the Highway 99 tunnel-boring machine. WSDOT says it’ll arrive around April 1st – no foolin’! The machine is in 41 pieces as it begins its 5,000-mile journey across the Pacific, bound for Terminal 46 on the downtown waterfront, where it will be unloaded and reassembled before it starts heading north from the launch pit just south of where what’s left of the Alaskan Way Viaduct ends. WSDOT is already tweeting about the trip at @BerthaDigsSR99.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
WIth the south mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct gone and the tunneling to the north about to begin, WSDOT is planning to consolidate the quarterly meetings of its citizen/business advisory groups.
The groups, it should be noticed, are far from perfunctory. The map above – showing the traffic reconfiguration in the works for the about-to-start “timber bridge” project on Highway 99 – is an example of the groups’ value, the result of a recent request by one West Seattle member.
More on that, ahead. First: After gaining some reassurances that their issues won’t be lost in the ensuing shuffle, members of the South Portal Working Group – which has focused on what’s happening and coming up in the West Seattle/SODO areas — agreed that would be OK with them.
That was the final point on the agenda of that group’s most recent meeting, held in the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project headquarters’ 23rd-floor conference room downtown. The group had been meeting in Sound Transit‘s board room, but that location was described as “unavailable … for a while.”
Toplines from the wide-ranging agenda – tolling, tunneling, even RapidRide ridership – ahead, along with the details on the map’s origins and the project launch:
10:02 PM: While WSDOT hasn’t sent its alert yet, this turned up in today’s weekly “Construction Lookahead,” published by SDOT but including state projects as well:
January 14 to January 17, Southbound SR99 will be closed between the Battery St Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge from 10 PM to 5 AM the following morning. The Elliott Ave and Columbia St onramps will also be closed. One lane of northbound SR 99 will be closed from S Holgate St to S Royal Brougham Way during these times.
You’ll recall these closures were frequent for a few months last year; we’ll check with WSDOT tomorrow to see if this is isolated, or the start of a new wave of shutdowns.
12:08 PM: Thanks to Travis Phelps at WSDOT for adding the info in comments – before we even had sent the inquiry – that this will be happening the next three weeks.
Good news: WSDOT will NOT be closing a lane of southbound 99 again this weekend after all, only the Atlantic Street offramp, as work continues on the new Atlantic overpass. Here’s the announcement:
Crews working with the Washington State Department of Transportation will close the southbound State Route 99 off-ramp near Seattle’s stadiums this weekend to complete pile driving for the new South Atlantic Street overpass.
Thanks to hard work last weekend, contractor Atkinson Construction will not close a lane on southbound SR 99 as previously planned. Crews were able to drive 48 of 53 pilings last weekend. They will drive the remaining five pilings and finish welding on another 20 pilings while the ramp is closed this weekend.
Closure details
· At 4 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, crews will close the southbound SR 99 off-ramp to South Atlantic Street.· Crews will reopen the ramp at 2:30 p.m. Sunday for fans heading to the Seahawks game at CenturyLink field. The ramp will be closed again at 5:30 p.m., 10 minutes after kickoff.
· The ramp will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
(WSDOT rendering of the 99 “south portal” including the future overpass)
First road-work announcement for 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct in a while – from WSDOT:
Drivers should plan for delays on southbound State Route 99 through downtown Seattle the next two weekends. Crews working for WSDOT will reduce SR 99 to one lane near the stadiums and close the southbound off-ramp to South Atlantic Street. During the closures crews will drive more than 50 pilings to support construction of the new South Atlantic Street overpass.
Dec. 14-17 weekend
Crews will close the right lane of southbound SR 99 between Columbia Street and South Royal Brougham Way and the southbound SR 99 off-ramp to South Atlantic Street from 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, to 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17.
Dec. 21-24 weekend
Crews will close the right lane of southbound SR 99 between Columbia Street and South Royal Brougham Way and the southbound off-ramp to South Atlantic Street from 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, to 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 24.
Crews will reopen all lanes of SR 99 and the South Atlantic Street off-ramp two hours prior to the Sunday, Dec. 23, Seahawks game at CenturyLink Field. The ramp and southbound lane will close again an hour after kickoff, and reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 24Construction on the overpass started last summer and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. The overpass will improve mobility by allowing freight haulers and commuters to bypass the rail crossing near the entrance to the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 46.
Neither the Spokane Street Viaduct nor Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled for any sort of closure in the next week. (We’ll be checking with WSDOT to see if this means they’re done with the work that had been causing the frequent overnight southbound 99 closures, or if this is just a break.) No date yet for the reopening of westbound surface Spokane St. under the SSV, but it’s expected to be soon. And here’s one other surface-street closure, in the Pioneer Square/stadium zone, you might want to know about:
Monday, Oct. 15 – the morning of Friday, Oct. 19 – First Avenue South will be closed between South King Street and Railroad Way South [map] from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly. Note: on Wednesday, Oct. 17 the closure start time will be delayed until two hours after the Sounders game at CenturyLink Field.
Yet another reminder if you see this before Monday night – ALL transportation/traffic/transit topics are on the table for the Sustainable West Seattle Community Forum that night (October 15th), 7 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon; WSB sponsor).
99/ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT CLOSURE REMINDER: In case you’ve somehow missed it – one last reminder before tomorrow, Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge will be closed in BOTH DIRECTIONS for most of the weekend. The closure for the twice-yearly inspection (and ongoing maintenance work) is scheduled to start at 6 am Saturday and end no later than 4 pm Sunday. Bus riders, note there is a reroute associated with this too:
From Saturday morning, October 6 at 6:00 AM, until Sunday afternoon, October 7 at 4:00 PM, Metro bus routes 120, 125, & the RapidRide C Line will be rerouted off the Alaskan Way Viaduct to accommodate work being performed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
Viaduct bus routes will use alternate surface streets instead to and from the West Seattle Bridge. The only bus stops that will be missed are westbound on Columbia St at 2nd Av when leaving downtown to West Seattle, and eastbound on Seneca St between 2nd and 3rd avenues when arriving downtown. Heading to West Seattle, board buses southbound on 3rd Av between Seneca and Spring streets, or just south of Columbia St. There are not stops after Columbia St.
SPOKANE ST. VIADUCT RAMP CLOSURE SATURDAY MORNING: Also, a reminder that the 1st Avenue South OFFRAMP on the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to be closed 3 am-9 am Saturday.
WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI RUNS FOR SOUNDERS FANS: This Sunday, and again October 21st, the county will add West Seattle Water Taxi runs for Sunday night Sounders games. See the shaded times on the schedule. (And remember that the WT will change to its offseason schedule at the end of this month – starting Monday, October 29th.)
Very short list for this week’s traffic alerts. We’ll group them by projects, instead of days:
SPOKANE STREET VIADUCT: Nothing in the coming week, says SDOT.
ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT/99: Tonight through Thursday night, it’s closed southbound, 9 pm-5 am, between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, says WSDOT.
P.S. If you drive through SODO, remember that there’s a Seahawks game Monday night and a Huskies game Thursday night, both likely to affect traffic. As noted here on Friday, the West Seattle Water Taxi has late-night runs for both games.
Thursday is when state and local transportation planners go public with updates on road-closure schedules, and we have advance warning of the next both-directions Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct closure: Friday night 10/5 through Sunday afternoon 10/7, according to this roundup of all major closures/changes.
If you drive 99 between West Seattle and downtown, you probably noticed (as did commenter Robert) that while the new northbound stretch through SODO is open, the southbound side is still two lanes. Not for long, says WSDOT spokesperson Travis Phelps. He says, “We will start pulling back the barrier tonight when the southbound viaduct is closed. We hope to be done by Wednesday.”
Highway 99 between the West Seattle Bridge and downtown is open again in both directions, with this weekend’s closure ending early as crews finished connecting the new northbound section through SODO to the rest of the roadway. Ahead, the detailed announcement from WSDOT:Read More
(Through the windshield, as WSDOT drove media onto the new bridge)
Nine months ahead of schedule and under budget, the elevated section of northbound Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement near the stadiums will be open by Monday (as announced last week). This morning, WSDOT executives led a quick news-media tour of the about-to-open section, and WSB was there.
(WSDOT executive Matt Preedy talking with notebook-holding Mike Lindblom of The Seattle Times [WSB partner])
They also have gone public with this time-lapse video of what’s transpired since that section of the AWV started coming down less than a year ago:
More photos ahead – plus a WSDOT graphic of how you’ll get through the area:
(WSDOT photo, via Flickr)
Our day-by-day list of road closures for the week includes one this weekend for part of northbound 99 just north of the West Seattle Bridge. Today, WSDOT confirms it’s so they can get the new northbound Highway 99 bridge open by Monday morning – which means more room for vehicles on that section of 99. Here’s the official announcement:
This weekend the Washington State Department of Transportation will close another chapter in the replacement of the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct.
WSDOT crews will close a section of northbound SR 99 through SODO Friday night to put the finishing touches on the new highway that replaces the viaduct’s south end. Unlike the double-deck viaduct, this new section of SR 99 features twin, side-by-side bridges. By 5 a.m. Monday, Sept.17, northbound traffic will use the newly completed east-side bridge, while southbound traffic remains on the west-side bridge, which was completed in October 2011.
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
As the next phase of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program intensifies – digging the launch pit for the tunnel-boring machine – dozens of curious people joined a walking tour through part of the work zone last night, and contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there for WSB. Above, deputy program administrator Matt Preedy (a West Seattleite) was among the project leaders pointing out sights like this –
Our photo tour continues ahead:Read More
(Part of the tunneling machine, being assembled now in Japan – photo courtesy WSDOT)
If you use Highway 99 or adjacent roads through Pioneer Square/SODO, you drive by it all the time – so maybe you’d be interested in a close-up look at the tunnel work zone. If so, WSDOT invites you to join a walking tour this Thursday night – read on for the details:Read More
In Metro‘s work to figure out how buses will get through downtown once the Alaskan Way Viaduct and its central-downtown on/offramps are history, a reconfigured Columbia Street seems to be in the lead.
That’s according to a presentation made to citizen advisory “working groups” last week, and our followup conversation with a Metro rep.
With the next closure just hours away, it’s time for our weekly list melding the city and state announcements of upcoming West Seattle Bridge/Spokane Street Viaduct/Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 closures – plus a long-term narrowing of 1st Avenue South near the WS Bridge. Note that the Sunday-Thursday 99 closure pattern is interrupted this week:
SUNDAY, AUGUST 5 (tonight)
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
MONDAY, AUGUST 6
*1st Avenue South: Lane closures begin; SDOT says it will be down to one lane each way, 24/7, for “approximately eight weeks,” between S Horton and S Spokane Streets.
*Spokane Street Viaduct: Westbound lanes closed between I-5 and Highway 99, 10 pm till 5 am. This means no access to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 7
*Spokane Street Viaduct: Westbound lanes closed between I-5 and Highway 99, 10 pm till 5 am. This means no access to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10
*No closures scheduled (after SB 99 reopens at 5 am)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11
*No closures scheduled
There’s an expanded list of Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project-related closures on the city website here, and an expanded list of Alaskan Way Viaduct/99-related closures on the state website here.
Reminder that southbound 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct will close in about half an hour for the first of five overnight closures scheduled this week – and every week into the fall. Those Sunday through Thursday night’s 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct closures are the biggest traffic alerts for this week – the state explains them here. The week’s full list, broken out day to day, is ahead:Read More
After a brief break, WSDOT is resuming overnight southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 closures next Sunday through Thursday nights, to continue reinforcement work on the section of highway that the future tunnel will travel beneath. Read on for the official announcement, with more info on why the closures are necessary:Read More
(WSDOT photo of the new 99 bridge-in-progress, taken last month)
If you drive 99 from the West Seattle Bridge to downtown, you’ve noticed that the eastern elevated section of the highway, south of the remaining Alaskan Way Viaduct, is taking shape fast. Once it’s done, that new bridge will carry the northbound 99 traffic, while its semi-twin, which has carried both directions since last year, will be the southbound-only side. This morning, WSDOT announced that the new bridge will be done this fall, with the entire south end demolition/construction project complete “one year ahead of schedule and on budget.” Read on for the announcement:Read More
One more reminder if you haven’t already seen it on our “This Week’s Closures” list: The southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 stretch between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge is scheduled to close at 11 pm tonight and remain closed ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT SATURDAY, reopening by 9 am Sunday. WSDOT is continuing to work on reinforcing the section of The Viaduct that’s right over where the tunnel will be bored.
WSDOT says the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct/Highway 99 has reopened early, but the southbound direction will stay closed till 5 am tomorrow as planned.
P.S. Here’s our day-by-day list of closures for the week ahead, also including the city’s Spokane Street Viaduct plus the bike-trail work by the “low bridge” the next two days.
(Photo via WSDOT’s Twitter feed)
The WSDOT media alert on Tuesday called it a ring, but we agree with those who say it looks more like a hoop (or even an echo of the new waterfront ferris wheel!) – 57 feet in diameter and shown off during today’s ceremonial groundbreaking for the Highway 99 Tunnel “launch pit.” It represents the diameter of the tunnel, which is scheduled to be bored starting next summer. Here’s the lineup of (mostly) politicians past and present at the ceremony:
(Photo via the Seattle City Council’s Facebook page)
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen is at the mike in that photo; locals King County Executive Dow Constantine (behind Rasmussen in the photo) and former mayor Greg Nickels (who was still in office when the state’s tunnel bill became law three years ago) were also there. Today’s groundbreaking represented the start of digging south of the remaining Viaduct, for the spot where the tunnel-boring machine will get started, heading underground and northbound.
SIDE NOTE/REMINDER: Speaking of the remaining Viaduct, the Highway 99 stretch from downtown to the West Seattle Bridge is scheduled for a full-weekend closure later this month, 11 pm June 15 through 5 am June 18, as first noted here last week.
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