Now that the tunnel is a go and political discourse on the project set aside, conversations about the viaduct have turned to logistics.
A crowd nearing 100 gathered at the West Seattle High School Commons on Monday, Oct. 10 to get the scoop on how the nine-day closure of the Alaska Way Viaduct (Oct. 21 – 31) will effect their commute.
City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, County Councilmember Joe McDermott and Alaska Way Viaduct project director Matt Preedy (all three live in West Seattle) gave a presentation and answered questions from the crowd. Representatives from WashDOT, SDOT, and King County Metro were also available for individual questions.
“I leave West Seattle every morning at 7 o’clock … and I come down Admiral Hill,” a man in the crowd said. “Is it going to take me until 8 o’clock to get to I-5?”
“Yes,” someone in the crowd quipped, leading to a swirl of laughter.
“A common question that we get is ‘What should people expect for travel times?’” Preedy said. “And all we can say at this point is that all depends on how well people respond to take alternate modes, to leave earlier, to delay their trips, to not travel at all.
“If nobody changes how they operate, nothing will move,” Preedy added. “If the majority of people change how they operate, things may not be that bad.”
Preedy displayed a slide with suggestions on how West Seattleites can alter their commute (he asked that everyone do this at least one of the nine days to help “free up road use for those that can’t change”):
-Carpool, vanpool, vanshare
-Take the bus, water taxi, light rail, train, bike
-Work from home
-Adjust your work schedule (work later or earlier to avoid the rush hours)
-Use alternate routes where possible
-Plan for delays and added travel time
-Listen to radio traffic reports and use electronic message boards to get up to the minute information (those boards will be up on Fauntleroy, Avalon and 35th)
-Delay or reschedule discretionary trips
For those who need to make that commute downtown, Preedy said instead of using the Viaduct, people will need to take either the 1st Ave S. or 4th Ave S. exits off the West Seattle Bridge. Preedy said existing construction projects on 1st and 4th Ave will continue during the closure, but they will open up lanes as much as possible during that time to help traffic flow.
Headed south, commuters will need to work their way to East Marginal Way S., then take the Lower Spokane St. Swing Bridge. Preedy said the US Coast Guard has agreed not to operate the swing bridge from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the closure, except in the case of emergencies.
Map of travel routes from West Seattle
Map of travel routes in downtown Seattle
Preedy also suggested trying out your alternate route before the closure begins to become comfortable with it before bumper-to-bumper traffic begins.
Preedy said $135 million has been spent on educating and informing the public, including forums like this and informational signs on Fauntleroy, Avalon and 35th displaying expected delays during the nine-day closure. They plan to have “incident response trucks” stationed on the West Seattle Bridge throughout the closure to quickly respond to and clean up and wrecks. SPD traffic officers will help guide 1st and 4th Ave traffic as well.
A good place to start for comprehensive information on the closure is visiting WashDOT’s website on the project.
Councilmember Joe McDermott also suggested visiting “We’ll Get You There,” King County’s website on the closure that details extended bus trips, extended water taxi routes and parking and additional shuttle service.
Preedy also encouraged anyone with specific questions on their personal commute from any neighborhood in West Seattle to either call the Viaduct Closure hotline at 1-888-AWV-LINE or email at viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.
During the closure, visit WashDOT’s What’s Happening Now website and keep up with the news (including the West Seattle Herald). Preedy said media will be issued press releases with the latest information throughout the closure.
Councilmember McDermott encouraged West Seattleites to share the information they gather on navigating the nine-day closure “with your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers, the people you ride the bus with - even your enemies. Share it with everybody you can find because we all need to get the word out to as many people as possible.”
He shared the story of Carmageddon, a week-long closure of a major highway in Los Angeles.
“Because of their strong planning and getting the word out and people hearing that message, Carmageddon didn’t materialize,” McDermott said. “Tonight we are here to talk about what may be termed Viadoom.”
After the presentation, McDermott described his plans for alternate transportation from his home in the Morgan Junction.
“Depending on what my exact schedule is in each day it will revolve largely around the water taxi, which will run earlier with more runs all day, (use the King County Shuttle Service) and also changing my hours,” he said. “Going in early, whatever it takes.”
“On a normal day from my house it will take a bus ride to a shuttle to the water taxi … and it’s going to be more than worth it.”
What exactly is happening during the nine-day closure?
Preedy took a moment to clear up the misconception that the entire viaduct is coming down during the closure. Only the southern mile is coming down so they can finish building a four-lane bypass to “connect the viaduct’s central waterfront section to the new SR 99 bridge.” They will also build a new southbound SR 99 off-ramp to S. Atlantic St. and the existing ramp to S. Royal Brougham Way will close.
From the WashDOT website, “We’re almost finished building the first of two side-by-side bridges that will replace the viaduct’s southern mile. On Oct. 21, we will close SR 99 and begin demolishing part of the viaduct. When SR 99 reopens to traffic on Oct. 31, both directions through SODO will travel on the new bridge. We can then finish demolishing the viaduct’s southern mile without disrupting traffic on SR 99, and begin building the second new bridge.”
Northbound viaduct closure
•Northbound SR 99 between the West Seattle Bridge and South Royal Brougham Way will be closed around-the-clock beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31.
•Northbound SR 99 between the South Royal Brougham Way on-ramp and the Battery Street Tunnel will open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and for special events at CenturyLink Field.
Southbound viaduct closure
•Southbound SR 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge will be closed around-the-clock beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31.
What happens after the nine-day closure?
From WashDOT, “Both north and southbound traffic will be traveling on the first of two new bridges. The second new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in 2013. When the new roadway is complete, the west bridge will be used for southbound traffic, and the east bridge for northbound traffic.”
“Drivers will pass through a construction bypass between South King Street and South Royal Brougham Way. The bypass will connect the new SR 99 bridge to the viaduct at South King Street. It will keep traffic on SR 99 moving while work continues on the viaduct replacement.”
“South of South King Street, SR 99 will have two lanes in each direction. North of South King Street the viaduct will remain in its current configuration with three lanes in each direction.”
The speed limit on the viaduct post-closure will be 40 mph, with a construction zone between S. King St. and Royal Brougham Way suggesting 25 mph.
A map of the before-and-after transformation can be found here.
