West Seattle, Washington
22 Thursday
Several traffic notes this afternoon: First, SDOT is sounding the alarm about Saturday’s Seahawks playoff game, since construction on the Spokane Street Viaduct and the south end of the Alaskan Way Viaduct are already causing some challenges in the area. Here’s some of what’s planned for that day:
To keep traffic moving, SDOT will re-open all lanes on Sixth Avenue S at S Spokane Street and also provide traffic control at the intersection of Fourth Avenue S and S Spokane Street. WSDOT is opening up a temporary crosswalk at First Avenue S and Railroad Way S and adding police officers to assist pedestrians. Motorists should, however, anticipate delays on First Avenue S between S King Street (on the north side of Qwest) and Royal Brougham Way (on the south side of Qwest) where the street is reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction to accommodate pile driving in the SR 99 construction zone.
For those who have asked – no, there will NOT be special Water Taxi service that day; it remains on a Monday-Friday schedule.
Second alert: The weekly regional construction update is out – and it just keeps getting longer. One item of note, heads-up for later this month – six more nighttime closures of the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct (meaning you won’t be able to get to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Columbian Way on those nights) are ahead: Jan 19-21 and 24-26, all scheduled for 10 pm-5 am. (P.S. We had checked earlier today about a sign seen yesterday on the eastbound bridge exit to 99, about overnight ramp closures next week; SDOT tells us those have been postponed, so never mind for now.)
We’re just days away from the next major phase of Alaskan Way Viaduct work, which will have major effects on a section of 1st Avenue South in the stadium zone. If you drive 1st in that area – or if you use the Viaduct on- or off-ramp in the stadium area – you’ll want to read the WSDOT news release that’s after the jump:Read More
(Most recent WSDOT video simulation of the tunnel – from October 2010)
The apparent winning bid has been chosen from the two submitted for the tunnel that the state wants to build to replace the central section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. According to transportation reporter Mike Lindblom‘s story at SeattleTimes.com (WSB partner), the bidder, Seattle Tunnel Partners, says they could finish sooner than the state asked – and can build the tunnel a bit wider. The state has just sent its official news release – it’s not online yet so far as we can tell, but we’ve got it after the jump:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox, word that the next initiative targeting the tunnel-replacing-Viaduct plan is to be filed with the City Clerk tomorrow morning. This one is to bear the name Seattle Taxpayer Protection Initiative, and according to its sponsors’ news release:
• Requires the City of Seattle to hold the State solely responsible for cost overruns and to require budgetary transparency on all state transportation projects located within Seattle.
• Requires all branches of City government to cooperate in holding the State responsible for project costs and report progress to the citizens on a quarterly basis.
• Establishes a Cost Accountability Commission to inform and monitor implementation of the ordinance.
• Instructs City Officials to fulfill the requirements of the ordinance within the full limits of their established authority.
The sponsors, including the state Sierra Club and Real Change, have a website at moveseattlesmarter.org. This is separate from the “no tunnel” initiative for which signature-gathering has been under way for months. P.S. The filing tomorrow will come three hours before the governor is scheduled to open bids from the 2 teams vying to design and build the tunnel.
ADDED 2:16 PM: Reaction from the pro-tunnel Tunnel Plus Transit coalition, excerpted from a news release they just sent:
“This initiative is a complete waste of time, trees, and money. The backers say they are concerned about protecting Seattle’s wallet, but they admit this will have no real affect – except, of course, that they want to waste the taxpayers’ money to put it on the ballot. We don’t need symbolic gestures, we need to replace the capacity of an aging and dangerous structure, we need congestion relief, and we need to take advantage of the favorable bidding climate right now. More delay is irresponsible,” said Bob Donegan, coalition spokesman.
That’s the map showing where the state’s installing automatic closure gates that are supposed to go down almost instantly if there’s a big earthquake, to keep traffic off the Alaskan Way Viaduct until it’s checked out. The work to install those gates has necessitated ramp and lane closures, and more are ahead in the next week, just announced and all listed here.
The Alaskan Way Viaduct emergency-earthquake-closure-gate system work continues – and that’ll bring some ramp closures next week along Highway 99 on both sides of downtown – read on:Read More
If you come to the Madison Middle School commons before 8 tonight, you’ll find several ways to offer the Alaskan Way Viaduct project managers your opinion on the “preferred alternative” for replacing its Central Waterfront section – the bored tunnel. First thing you’ll see when you walk in is a sign-in table and an easel with 16 topics listed, asking you to place a red-dot sticker next to the one that interests you the most.
You can move around the room to more than a dozen stations offering information about different aspects of the project, and if you want to make your official comment while you’re here, your options include writing it out longhand, typing it into one of two available laptops, or saying it aloud while court reporter Linda Grotefendt types.
This is an official part of the process triggered when the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (about the tunnel project’s effects) was made public a few weeks ago; this is the only West Seattle meeting where you can come to ask questions, but there’s no presentation tonight – since it’s open-house format, you are welcome to stop in any time before the event ends at 8 pm. You may also find unofficial information about the “No Tunnel” campaign – as we walked to the top of the steps that lead to the Madison commons from the south parking lot, we were handed a flyer headed “Stop The Tunnel, It’s Not a Done Deal.”
Meantime, looked like a decent turnout in the early going – more than 20 people had signed in within the first 15 minutes. If you can’t get to the meeting – here are the other ways to comment; the deadline is December 13th.
Quick reminder before Tuesday gets here: Two big one-of-a-kind meetings are scheduled in West Seattle tomorrow night. At West Seattle High School, 6:30 pm tomorrow, the next phase of the Seattle Public Schools student-assignment plan transition is up for discussion, particularly potential tweaks to how it’s affecting local schools and students – this Power Point presentation updated by the district last week includes some of what’s under discussion for West Seattle, including:
*Realign feeder patterns
*Grandfather non-attendance area students at Denny on to Chief Sealth, and non-attendance area students at Madison on to West Seattle
*Ensure more than 10% Open Choice seats at both Chief Sealth and West Seattle
*Establish a “West Seattle Preference” so Open Choice seats go first to students in West Seattle
*Make Gatewood, West Seattle Elementary, and Sanislo dual feed with transportation
*Add ALO at Lafayette to meet needs of students who can’t get into Lafayette Spectrum
*Institute multi-year waiting lists for Spectrum
*Monitor enrollment balance for future consideration of additional school bus transportation for MS grades
Meantime, the Viaduct/Tunnel meeting is at Madison Middle School, 6-8 pm tomorrow, open-house style so you can drop in any time. In addition to obtaining information about the newly released Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement focusing on the tunnel’s potential effects, you can also officially comment – either by talking to a court reporter who’ll transcribe your comment for the record, or by typing into a computer that’ll be on site (if you have had trouble commenting some other way).
As the week comes to an end, SDOT has just sent a raft of traffic alertsL
THIS WEEKEND: Viaduct work will lead to closures on parts of Alaskan Way and Royal Brougham – which might affect you if you’re attending the Dave Niehaus tribute – here are details.
BATTERY STREET TUNNEL LANE CLOSURE MONDAY MORNING: Southbound lane, 9 am-noon Monday, details here.
VIADUCT REPAIRS NEXT 2 WEEKS: Southbound lane closures are scheduled to fix guardrail damaged in a recent crash – days may change but here’s what’s expected as of right now.
SDOT was scheduled to resume guardrail repair on the Alaskan Way Viaduct tomorrow, related to a recent crash. Now you can expect to see repair crews soon in a different spot, after two crashes that closed The Viaduct southbound for a while early today. In the first one, police say a woman was speeding when she smashed into the wall, sending a chunk of its concrete down onto 2 parked cars below. Then one of the fire trucks on the scene – with no one inside at the time – got rear-ended by an allegedly under-the-influence driver. Police tell the tangled two-crash tale on SPD Blotter.
(WSDOT’s newest animation showing the tunnel plan and other area components)
In the Alaskan Way Viaduct project offices downtown this morning, project leader Ron Paananen led a media briefing meant to underscore the point in our headline – why you should take the time to comment on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the tunnel, officially released a week ago. Much of the discussion centered on the fact project managers believe the tunnel has to carry a toll to raise hundreds of millions of dollars – but, as the SDEIS points out, if the tunnel is tolled, there will be almost as many drivers avoiding it as drivers using it – about 45,000 daily for each. And, according to the summaries handed out at this morning’s briefing, that would affect West Seattle drivers: Not just the obvious effect, the fact that West Seattleites going downtown won’t use the tunnel because it has no exits, but the fact that the “diversion” (tunnel avoidance) will put enough traffic on other streets that it’ll increase the travel time. This morning’s presentation included:
With a tolled bored tunnel, the West Seattle to downtown and Woodland Park to downtown trips’ travel times could be 3 to 4 minutes longer than without tolls.
“No toll” is apparently not an option, but the new report does study three levels of tolling (ranging between $1 and $5 “in 2015 dollars), including one option that would only raise about a fourth of the money. It also notes that the tunnel still puts more traffic on city streets than they carry today, since it is not designed for as much capacity as the current Alaskan Way Viaduct carries – two lines in each direction compared to the current three. So if so many people would avoid the tunnel, how will gridlock be averted? The “potential tools for traffic management” listed at the briefing include:
Fine-tune toll-rate structure throughout the day
City street operations
Transit priority into and through downtown
Pedestrian and bicycle improvements
Manage parking on downtown streets
Seek additional transit funding
Active Traffic Management (ATM)
The state has started to dabble in the latter – variable speed limits, among other things. Meantime, it was asked whether tolls would continue after the loans were paid off; “That’s up to the Legislature to decide,” Paananen replied. Tolling and traffic are just part of what the SDEIS looks at; it also discusses tunnel-construction effects, such as five and a half years of 24/7 construction work with “17 potential staging areas.” But the biggest direct West Seattle effects are those travel times; you will be able to comment, and ask questions, at the public hearing/open house coming up at Madison Middle School, 6:30 pm November 16, and you can also have your say all these different ways. (The links to the entire document, including an “executive summary,” are here.)
(Newly released WSDOT video)
As reported when we covered the Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group meeting last week (story here), this week is concluding with two milestones for the proposal to replace its Central Waterfront section with a tunnel: First, the two remaining potential design-build teams presented their proposals yesterday – and Governor Gregoire promises to go public later today with more information on those proposals. Second, the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement is officially published, and the state wants to hear what you think. “Environmental impact” means a lot more than “ecological” impact – it includes an assessment of potential traffic effects and much, much more. You can see the report here; you can ask questions and offer comments in person during the West Seattle open house on November 16th; or you can offer your thoughts any of the ways listed here, till December. ADDED 10:43 AM: The governor has announced that both tunnel proposals are within budget. Here’s the WSDOT announcement.
7:19 PM: Another alert we’ve just received – here’s what Metro says about it:
Routes 21, 22, 54, 55, 56, 120 & 125 are delayed 15 – 25 mins due to southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct closure.
According to an SDOT alert, a crash is to blame, and there’s a “hanging guardrail,” which will take hours to fix – and is restricting northbound lanes too. 7:56 PM UPDATE: Here’s the full text from SDOT:
Due to damage caused by a vehicular collision on northbound SR99 in the vicinity of S Massachusetts St, southbound traffic on the Alaskan Way Viaduct is blocked and northbound traffic is restricted. Seattle Department of Transportation crews are en route to the scene to undertake repairs, which are estimated to take four or more hours at this point. Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes north and south.
The vehicular collision created an oil spill and also caused a guardrail from a northbound lane of the viaduct to hang over the lower, southbound lanes. This hazard has forced the closure of southbound lanes until the hanging rail can be removed and the missing segment of rail can be replaced.
9:41 PM: The Viaduct is now fully open again.
(WSDOT photo from last weekend’s inspection)
As promised, WSDOT released results of last weekend’s Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection before the week came to an end. From the announcement:
Although no new structural damage was found, data collected by … survey crews
showed a column on the east side of the viaduct south of Yesler Way had settled a half-inch since the July 2010 visual inspection. This particular column has settled approximately 1 7/16 inches since the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake. This is still within the established column settlement threshold of 6 inches.“The settlement we discovered during this inspection is very minor,” said Jugesh Kapur, WSDOT State Bridge Engineer. “While the Alaskan Way Viaduct is continuing to settle, it is still safe for drivers.”
“The viaduct is continuing to slowly shift and sink,” said Alaskan Way Viaduct Program Administrator Ron Paananen. “While this settlement is minor, it’s a reminder that we must press on with replacing this vulnerable structure.”
For the latest on what’s happening with that process, check our report from this week’s meeting of the South Portal Working Group – including the announcement of another viaduct-project open house in West Seattle (November 16 at Madison Middle School) to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that’s due out in a week.
Two major milestones are ahead next week in the move to find out if a deep-bore tunnel really will be the replacement for the Central Waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, according to presentations Wednesday to the project’s South Portal Working Group. That’s the group that has been overseeing the south end of the project, and how it ties to transportation systems feeding West Seattle and vicinity. One week from today, on Thursday, October 28th, the two companies still working on proposals to design and build the tunnel are scheduled to present their proposals, which should kick off a six-week evaluation process. The next day, Friday, October 29th, a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be out (as explained here), reviewing potential effects of the tunnel (and other aspects of the project) will come out, kicking off a similar-length public-comment period that will include an open house in West Seattle: Mark your calendar for 6-8 pm Tuesday, November 16, at Madison Middle School. Lots more new Viaduct-related info from the meeting, after the jump:Read More
Just got word from WSDOT that the Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection/maintenance closure is over, and it reopened about half an hour ago, more than five hours ahead of schedule. Their announcement says this is what they did this time around:
In addition to structural inspections, WSDOT and the City of Seattle coordinated maintenance and preservation work during this closure. Work this weekend included:
*Surveying the structure to check for settlement.
*Repairing expansion joints and damaged bridge rails.
*Applying a protective covering to exposed rebar.
*Servicing drainage and lighting systems and traffic cameras.
*Washing the walls of the Battery Street Tunnel and inspecting its lighting and ventilation systems.
“Preliminary inspection results” will be made public by Friday.
Right about now, the Alaskan Way Viaduct should be shutting down for Day 1 of its two-day semi-annual inspection – 6 am to 6 pm, today and tomorrow. And as announced last night, the Spokane Street Viaduct‘s westbound lanes will close overnight tonight, 10 pm-5 am. But its eastbound lanes aren’t affected – and during the AWV closure, the new 4th Avenue offramp on that side should help you get downtown without having to go all the way to I-5.
Reminder – the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s semi-annual checkup is this weekend, so it’s scheduled to be closed 6 am-6 pm both Saturday and Sunday. (They tend to finish and reopen early on Sundays – if that happens, we’ll have updates here as well as via Facebook and Twitter.) This is the first inspection closure since the new 4th Avenue offramp opened, so you don’t have to go all the way to I-5 to get off The Bridge eastbound.
Two notes this afternoon: First, if you haven’t seen this already in the WSB Forums, Chris reports a lane revision on eastbound Andover at Delridge (map). Second: Another reminder that the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s semiannual inspection is this weekend, so it’s scheduled to be closed 6 am-6 pm Saturday and the same time frame Sunday (sometimes it reopens earlier, and we will report it here if that happens, as well as on Twitter and Facebook). Also note that a bit later this month, the eastbound West Seattle Bridge ramp to 99 will be closed for two nights – 10 pm-5 am, October 20-21 – as part of the Viaduct earthquake-gating project.
Announced tonight by WSDOT: The next weekend shutdown of the Alaskan Way Viaduct for its semiannual inspections will be October 16-17, 6 am-6 pm each of those days. If you’re interested in a close-up look at The Viaduct during the closure, WSDOT is offering walking tours on the 16th, between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm, and you have to sign up in advance: E-mail viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov or call 888-298-5463.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Transportation issues and community involvement took center stage at Tuesday night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting at the Admiral Church, as the group also celebrated a busy summer of activities and looked ahead to the future.
About 20 people gathered for the meeting, which was ANA’s first meeting since July 14 (see WSB coverage here), after an August hiatus to focus on the successful Summer Concerts at Hiawatha.
“The tunnel’s going to be closed for quite a while.” That’s what we just heard on the scanner, as police call in the major-incident investigators for a crash on northbound Highway 99 at the Battery Street Tunnel. We don’t have details of the crash, but in case you drive the Alaskan Way Viaduct northbound overnight, you should be aware. (“Quite a while” translates to “at least two hours,” according to more scanner traffic heard as we wrote this.) FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: SPD Blotter has the story of what happened – motorcycle crash with two people hurt.
Time for SDOT’s weekly roundup of weekend traffic alerts. Some biggies this time, particularly the Seafair Torchlight Run and Parade – the run will close the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s northbound lanes from about 5:30-7 pm on Saturday, as well as the downtown route that then will stay closed for the parade till late evening. (Here’s our story on the West Seattleites in the parade.) And that’s not the only big weekend event. Here’s the full SDOT rundown.
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