West Seattle, Washington
30 Friday
Just got word from WSDOT that the southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct is open again, as of just before 9 pm; that’s eight hours earlier than they expected to reopen it following a construction closure, and it means both directions are back to regular operation.
Before we get to the weekend, it’s the end-of-week summertime tradition – SDOT‘s list of areas around the city where big events are guaranteed – or likely – to have big traffic effects. The two-part Alaskan Way Viaduct closure (northbound Saturday night for the Seafair Torchlight Run, then southbound early Sunday through early Monday for construction) is part of the list. Read on!Read More
Early reminder – a two-part closure will affect Alaskan Way Viaduct drivers this weekend. Northbound, it’ll be closed 5:30-8:30 pm Saturday night for the Seafair Torchlight Run; southbound, it’ll be closed for ongoing construction from just before midnight Saturday night, till early Monday. Read on for more details:Read More
Two closure advisories for you this afternoon. First, just in from SDOT, the new dates for the westbound closures of the Spokane Street Viaduct (the bridge between I-5 and Highway 99) as part of the ongoing SSV Widening Project work:
The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed overnight for four nights beginning Tuesday, July 26. Each night work will begin at 10 p.m. and conclude by 5 a.m. the next morning, except for Friday night. On July 29 work will start at 11 pm and end at 7 am.
Meanwhile, the work requiring recent overnight closures of First Avenue South wrapped up early with no closure planned tonight. The 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. closure at S Spokane Street was due to run through the morning of July 23. …
And a reminder, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct closures will mean that the exits to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 will be closed at that time. Meantime, the next Alaskan Way Viaduct closure is approaching – this one is a two-parter: On Saturday night, July 30th, the northbound Viaduct will close 5:30-8:30 pm for the Seafair Torchlight Run. Then, just before midnight that same night, the southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct will close, and remain closed till 5 am the following Monday morning (August 1st).
One of the few things that will actually be settled by the August 16th ballot is Seattle Referendum 1 – since most of the ballot otherwise is comprised of primary races, narrowing candidate fields to the top two.
“Settled,” of course, is a relative term here.
Technically, Referendum 1 asks you to approve or reject Section 6 of City Ordinance 123542, related to Seattle’s role in the 99-tunnel plan. The “section” is what remains after a separate court fight.
Symbolically, it has been pointed out that this may be Seattleites’ only chance for a public vote on something related to the tunnel.
Or is it a potentially meaningless vote?
That’s part of what we’ll discuss at what appears to be the city’s only all-tunnel pre-election forum, happening right here on the peninsula tomorrow night, as the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce presents a public forum, moderated by your WSB editor, Thursday at 6 pm, West Seattle High School Theater. Two reps from each of the two major groups campaigning on the issue – pro-tunnel Let’s Move Forward and anti-tunnel Protect Seattle Now – will be there; you’ll have a chance to ask your question after the first round of opening statements and moderated discussion. Hope to see you there.
Two voting-related notes regarding the Highway 99 tunnel: First, according to a news release from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque has ruled that anti-tunnel Initiative 101 should not be on the fall ballot because it “is beyond the scope of the initiative power because it purports to exercise a power that was directly delegated to the City Council and Mayor.” So, the news release adds, “Unless Judge DuBuque’s decision is appealed and overturned, I-101 in its entirety will not appear on the November ballot. The initiative was designed to prohibit the City of Seattle from using city streets to aid in the construction of a deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a project of the Washington State Department of Transportation.”
What IS going before voters is Seattle Referendum 1, asking them to approve or reject a section of a city ordinance related to Seattle’s role in the 99 tunnel project. The “section” is what remains after a separate court fight. Referendum 1 is on the August 16th ballot, and if you would like to hear from both sides, in one place, before making up your mind, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce presents a public forum, moderated by your WSB editor, this Thursday night, 6 pm, West Seattle High School Theater.
Big day for transportation news. One more story in the pipe after this, but first, a couple Alaskan Way Viaduct notes: The new “multi-use trail” for bicycles/pedestrians/etc. officially opens Monday morning at 5 am. WSDOT’s announcement has an invitation for people who plan to use it: “Come celebrate with us on the north end of the trail near S. King Street during Monday’s morning and evening commute, 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. We’re looking forward to meeting you!” … Second note, the next scheduled closure is two weeks away, 5:30 pm July 30th through 5 am August 1st, starting with the Seafair Torchlight Run – details here.
It’s been atop our BIG STORIES list on the sidebar all week, just for easy reference, but in case you’ve missed it somehow, a midweek reminder: The Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed for much of Saturday because of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. And since the event starts in Tukwila, there are other road closures within miles of West Seattle that might affect you too (including, in SODO, part of 1st Avenue S.). The information is all on the marathon website, where we got the map shown above. Of course, with the Morgan Junction Community Festival and the Northwest Paddling Festival, you might not want to leave West Seattle on Saturday anyway – but if you do, consider yourself forewarned. Again.
(From the updated “interactive simulation”: Red marks the Viaduct section to be demolished during late October closure; green shows how new section will be connected to detour)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If you are thinking about a fall vacation – October 21-31 might be an excellent time to consider. That has just been announced as the time frame WSDOT is projecting for the biggest Alaskan Way Viaduct shutdown required by the south-end replacement project, according to its director, Matt Preedy.
His Viaduct-project briefing was the biggest presentation at last night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting, and included other new information of interest to West Seattle drivers/bus riders/etc. – such as, what is being planned to keep our area out of total gridlock during that time.
Details ahead:Read More
WSDOT sent word late Saturday night that the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure is over: “During the closure crews successfully removed and temporarily replaced two of the structure’s support columns to make room for construction of the new SR 99 southbound roadway through SODO. Crews also tested the automated viaduct closure system.” Both directions are fully reopened. (Above, a photo tweeted by WSDOT, showing one of the columns taken down during the Saturday work.)
(WSDOT June 3rd photo of south-end Viaduct construction work)
For your Friday night planning, if you’re going to be off-peninsula: Both the Alaskan Way Viaduct project website’s home page and the city’s weekly roundup of road-construction traffic alerts are now showing a change in the start time of this weekend’s Viaduct closure (for south-end construction work): 5 am Saturday, instead of 11 pm Friday night. (Ending time still set for 5 am Monday; the northbound section will reopen later Saturday from the stadiums northward, but that still means no access from the West Seattle Bridge or 99 south of downtown.)
Hate to bring this up while so many are still dealing with this morning’s commutemare, but WSDOT just sent a reminder about this weekend’s Alaskan Way Viaduct closure (we first warned you 5/26). It’s related to the south-end replacement project, and it’s planned for 11 pm Friday to 5 am Monday (unless work wraps up sooner, as it sometimes does). Details here.
1:56 PM: A high-powered team of elected officials led by Governor Gregoire summoned media to the south end of the downtown waterfront for what was billed as an announcement about the Holgate-to-King section of the Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project. The news: It is 6 months ahead of schedule and demolition will start Oct. 22. More to come.
2:12 PM UPDATE: This was an elaboration on what the Holgate-to-King project leader Matt Preedy had announced at the South Portal Working Group meeting on Wednesday (here’s our coverage; no other newspeople were there). While he had reported the work ahead of schedule, he didn’t say how much ahead of schedule, but said timelines were being revised. So today came the details, with Governor Gregoire joined on a stage in the work zone (top photo) by Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, King County Executive Dow Constantine, City Councilmembers Sally Clark, Jean Godden, Tim Burgess and Sally Bagshaw, and Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton. (Clark spoke for the City Council, saying that other members might have been there too, except for the fact committee meetings were still under way back at City Hall. Agendas show one committee meeting this afternoon – 2 of its members, Clark and Bagshaw, were at this event; the other two, Nick Licata and Tom Rasmussen, were not.)
The state says the demolition work wasn’t supposed to start till next April, but contractor Skanska has worked so quickly, it’s now going to start in October. The new cost is $3.5 million less, says WSDOT, but Skanska gets about 70% of that as a bonus, so taxpayer savings is $1 million. The new 99 structure you see taking shape along the old one will be opened before that happens, and traffic will be shifted onto it. So does this mean any shorter timeframe for the traffic woes West Seattleites (among others) are experiencing, which intensified with the mid-May reduction? We asked Hammond that question when the announcement segued to Q/A:
(A new WSDOT graphic also reiterates it will still be two lanes each way while traffic is using the new structure.) County Executive Constantine had an interesting stat: Two weeks of West Seattle Water Taxi stats are now in, post-Viaduct Squeeze, and ridership in the commute periods is up 60 percent.
We’re reviewing the “official” materials handed out after the speeches ended and will add more details shortly.
10:47 PM: One more thing to add – Seattle Channel video’d the 20-minute event in its entirety, so here it is:
(Our question to Secretary Hammond is about 17:50 in – the event venue was so noisy, reporters were motioned to the front of the stage to ask our questions, and ours was the first. )
(WSDOT photo taken last month in construction zone)
From this afternoon’s downtown meeting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group, one of the advisory groups that gets briefed on, and offers opinions about, how the ongoing 99 work and related projects are tying into our part of town:
ANOTHER CLOSURE COMING UP: For about a week, starting at the end of this week – specifics to come – the intersection of East Marginal and Spokane will be closed, according to the Port’s Mike Merritt. It’s because of ongoing work on the Port of Seattle’s East Marginal Grade Separation Project – the ramp-resembling structure you see off to the south when heading east on the high-rise West Seattle Bridge. He didn’t have full details – we will check with the Port tomorrow – but also said the project is moving toward “substantial completion in September.”
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: As for the Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct south-end work, which is now in full swing, project leader Matt Preedy told the advisory group that it’s “ahead of schedule.”
Two West Seattle meetings of note tomorrow tackle hot topics: First, the Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct construction work and its effect on traffic to and from West Seattle. The South Portal Working Group, an advisory committee focused on that side of the 99 project, meets at 4 pm Wednesday, for the first time in a few months. Its agenda includes a project update, with committee members specifically asked to be ready to answer this question: “Do you have any feedback regarding the way traffic has been managed during construction?”. West Seattle reps in the working group include Pete Spalding from eastern West Seattle, Vlad Oustimovitch from western West Seattle, and Junction lawyer Jerry Cohen.) The meeting’s at the Sound Transit Board Room at Union Station on the south end of downtown.
Then at 7 Wednesday night, South Seattle Community College Board Room, the Southwest District Council – whose members are from neighborhood groups and other organizations around the west side of the peninsula, which the city calls the “Southwest District.” The SWDC has expressed concern over the city-led Triangle planning process – especially a suggestion that some parts could be rezoned for 85-foot-tall buildings – and will hear from the city planners on the project, Susan McLain and Robert Scully, tomorrow night. They’ll also hear from SDOT about SW Alaska “rechannelization” – changes planned to that street’s flow through the Triangle and Junction for the RapidRide bus service. The agenda also includes new Department of Neighborhoods director Bernie Matsuno. All are welcome at both meetings.
(WSDOT construction photo from May 20th)
This turned up in the latest “Seattle Area (Road) Construction Look Ahead” – the Alaskan Way Viaduct has another weekend closure coming up in two weeks, June 10th through June 13th. It’ll be structured like the one two weeks ago: The Viaduct is scheduled to be closed in its entirety 11 pm Friday, June 10th, through 5 am Monday, June 13th, except for the NORTHBOUND stretch between the stadiums and the Battery Street Tunnel, which will reopen at 10 am Saturday, June 11th (doesn’t do drivers heading out of West Seattle much good unless you take surface streets to the stadium-area northbound on-ramp). This is part of the ongoing work to rebuild the southern (Holgate to King) stretch of 99.
From an end-of-week e-mail sent by WSDOT:
Thank you, drivers. We’ve reduced SR 99 from three to two lanes between the West Seattle Bridge and Seattle’s sports stadiums. While drivers using the West Seattle Bridge in the morning can expect to add an average of 15 minutes to their commute, we have yet to see any significant backups southbound on the viaduct.
Drivers on the West Seattle Bridge looking to avoid traveling on the viaduct should consider using the Fourth Avenue S. off-ramp. WSDOT contributed funding to this project in order to keep people and goods moving during south end construction. This ramp provides eastbound drivers on the West Seattle Bridge with direct access to downtown Seattle.
How does the “15 minutes longer in the morning, but afternoon comparable” (our paraphrase) compare with your experience?
Thinking of taking the Water Taxi today, after what commenters say has been a steadily worsening Highway 99 commute post-lane reductions? Here’s the schedule. The county tells us that through the first three days of the week, ridership has been consistently higher than the previous week, particularly on the afternoon runs. We stopped by Seacrest for photos on Wednesday and counted 31 people disembarking around 4:30 pm. We’re expecting official numbers in a week-one wrapup on Monday.
On this day 2 of lane-reduced Highway 99 north of the West Seattle Bridge, we’re hearing some stories about bigger crowds on buses and the West Seattle Water Taxi, so we asked King County Department of Transportation what they’re seeing. With the caveat: “Right now, most of our information is based on field observations. We won’t have actual ridership data until later, and then it will be more of a sampling,” KCDOT’s Linda Thielke nonetheless offers this information:
* We are already seeing ups-and-downs with traffic, ridership and travel times based on time of day, location, route…so, we’ll need to give it a few weeks to measure impact of the lane reductions;
* We have some extra buses on standby in case the buses get so packed that they have to pass up passengers. The extra buses were not used on Monday, but we did have to use two Tuesday morning on one trip each of the routes 120 and 125;
* We know there are many bus trips with standing loads, and are assigning someone to start monitoring those both in the morning and afternoon commute;
* So far, with two AM and one PM commute completed, the worst choke point is the Columbia ramp and approach during the afternoon commute, particularly after 5 p.m. SPD is assisting Metro by placing a traffic officer at 2nd & Columbia to help WB buses get on the ramp. Cars going from SB Second to WB Columbia are not stopping on the red light, and just continuing to stream through the intersection. That blocks the traffic coming downhill on Columbia, which backs up buses turning right from Third to Columbia (most of the West Seattle service does this). So, we really want to stay on top of that problem.
* We are also asking SPD & WSP to monitor to the bus-only lanes on the West Seattle Bridge and NB SR 99 for cheaters, so that the buses can keep moving.
As for the Water Taxi, Thielke says it’s also too early for numbers there but the crew has noticed a “significant” bump – estimating 25 to 40 percent above previous levels, at least through this morning.
(Refresh for latest pic from WS Bridge & 1st Ave. S. Bridge cams, more on the WSB Traffic page)
4:35 PM: No real horror stories from the first Highway 99 commute outbound from West Seattle this morning since the lane (and speed limit) reductions. So what about the drive home? Harder to watch from this side of The Bridge but we’re monitoring traffic reports and other sources, so we can let you know any reports of trouble – and do let us know how it goes for you (whether you’re driving, busing, biking, motorcycling, Water Taxi-ing, etc.).
4:54 PM UPDATE: Two Water Taxi reports are the first in on the commute, both via Twitter. Maggie, who takes the Vashon Water Taxi, saw more “runners” than usual headed for the 4:15 boat to West Seattle; Kim is on the 4:45 boat right now and says it’s not as busy as she would have expected.
5:13 PM UPDATE: So far so good. P.S. If you are a late-night driver, note there are some Spokane Street Viaduct westbound OVERNIGHT-ONLY closures coming up starting later this week – here’s the city’s announcement.
(Added 1:46 pm, northbound trip through the lane-reduction zone. Note the 35 mph stretch. SB video added below)
Just in from WSDOT – the Alaskan Way Viaduct is now open again, with the new reduced-lane configuration between the West Seattle Bridge and the stadiums. Here’s the official announcement:
Crews reopened the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct ahead of schedule Sunday after completing work to narrow the highway for construction between the West Seattle Bridge and Seattle’s stadiums.
SR 99 reopened at noon, Sunday. During the closure, crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reconfigured the lanes and set up a new construction zone.
The early reopening brings an early start to long-term lane reductions on the south end of the viaduct. This section of SR 99 is now reduced from three lanes in each direction to two. The lane reduction provides crews with enough room to safely continue building the new side-by-side highway that will replace the viaduct between S. Holgate and S. King streets.
“This is a long-term traffic change that will affect drivers as they commute to and through downtown Seattle,” said Ron Paananen, WSDOT’s Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement program administrator. “If drivers can adjust their schedules, ride the bus, join a carpool or vanpool, or telecommute, that will help reduce congestion on the viaduct.”
WSDOT South End Projects Director Matt Preedy said drivers should also be prepared for narrower lanes shifted to the east, a 35 mph speed limit and no shoulder through the work zone.
“Drivers can protect themselves, their fellow commuters and workers by slowing down, paying attention and eliminating distractions,” Preedy said.
SR 99 will be a four-lane highway through SODO through at least 2013 and possibly longer, until the central waterfront portion of the viaduct is replaced. Due to the duration of the lane closures, WSDOT, the city of Seattle and King County Metro Transit invested in several road and transit improvements to keep people and goods moving during construction. WSDOT’s investment of $125 million provided for:
* Roadway improvements: Improved SR 519 and built a new Spokane Street Viaduct Fourth Avenue off-ramp.
* Transit investments: Added bus service to and from southwest Seattle and new programs to encourage the use of transit, ridesharing, and teleworking. .
* System reliability: New real-time driver information signs on I-5, SR 99 and other routes to downtown.
* WSDOT Incident Response Team patrols on SR 99 during the morning and evening commutes to clear stalls and collisions faster.WSDOT traffic engineers expect longer travel times on SR 99 and the West Seattle Bridge during the morning and evening commutes, and before and after events at the stadiums. Drivers can help minimize delays by using transit and by trying an alternate route or an alternative to their normal commute.
We are off to get a look, and will add photos/video soon as we’re back, for those who’ve been wondering what it will look like when they commute via the reduced-lane Viaduct tomorrow. ADDED: Northbound video is atop the story; southbound video here:
About 1 o’clock this afternoon – according to Brian Presser from TouchTech Systems in The Junction, who shared the photo – drivers heading westbound on the West Seattle Bridge would have seen that bumper-to-bumper traffic headed eastbound. (What? You left before West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day was over?) Backups have historically been fairly typical when the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed – as WSDOT warned almost two weeks ago that it would be this weekend – but the photo gives us one more excuse to remind you that the reason for this closure will also affect Highway 99 drivers between West Seattle and downtown for at least the next few years: Crews are reconfiguring the section between The Bridge and the stadiums to be two lanes each way, to facilitate the next steps in construction of the South End (Holgate-to-King) Viaduct replacement (which is a separate project from the tunnel-or-? project for the Central Waterfront). So this is what you’ll find when The Viaduct reopens early Monday:
(It’s explained further here.) The vague end date is because, as WSDOT explains it, it all depends on what happens with the plan for the Central Waterfront section; the South End project, they say, is designed to connect to whatever eventually is built, tunnel or something else.
Two traffic reminders: As a lead-in to the Alaskan Way Viaduct Lane Squeeze starting May 16th, most of The Viaduct will be closed most of next weekend, starting 11 pm Friday – full details here. And before that, there’s a five-day round-the-clock squeeze on 1st Avenue South from King to Royal Brougham, 6 am Monday morning through 3 pm Friday – one lane each way, around the clock, explained here.
| Comments Off on Traffic update: Alaskan Way Viaduct now fully open again