The Washington State Dept. of Transportation is urging people who would normally take the Alaskan Way Viaduct to get downtown to adjust their mode of transport while the viaduct is shut down for what they plan as a two week closure starting April 29.

They've made some changes themselves to get ready for the closure with regard to the Water Taxi and more (see link for the full Water Taxi piece you can print out with schedules and more information)

• 10-minute commute from Seacrest Park in West Seattle to downtown Seattle on the new MV Doc Maynard with capacity for 278 passengers.
• Higher-capacity vehicles on shuttle routes 773 and 775.
• Additional parking will be available
– SW Bronson Way and Harbor Ave SW— a total of 160 parking spaces.
– Pier 2 with a free shuttle connector— 200+ parking spaces for commuters.
• No charge for bikes.

Additional efforts to help move people during the closure

Transit
• King County Metro is rerouting 12 routes and will deploy 22 extra buses to help maintain schedules
• King County Water Taxi will add two extra trips to its Vashon route
• King County is providing extra parking lots and spots along Harbor Ave SW in West Seattle for Water Taxi riders

City Streets
• Seattle Police Department will conduct manual traf c control in key intersections as needed to keep intersections clear
• Temporary parking restrictions along key routes will facilitate transit and general purpose travel times
• SDOT is expediting planned intersection markings along E. Marginal Way S to assist bicycle and pedestrian routes
• Traf c ow and temporary parking changes will help get vehicles on and off Aurora at Denny Ave, Wall Street and Battery Street
• SDOT is restricting lane closure requests by third parties on city streets

Highways
• I-5 express lanes will remain open in the northbound direction overnight
• Southbound I-5 HOV lane between Mercer and Corson will be “open to all” during the closure
WSDOT funding mitigation efforts during the closure
WSDOT is providing funding to partner agencies for services and efforts to help mitigate for the anticipated traf c impacts of the viaduct closure. The items WSDOT is funding include:
• Vehicle parking lot and free shuttle in West Seattle for Water Taxi passengers
• Two additional Water Taxi runs between Vashon and downtown Seattle
• Seattle Police Department sergeant in the SDOT transportation operations center (TOC) during commute hours
• Extended hours for SDOT’s TOC (split cost with SDOT)
• Two additional SDOT incident response team units
• Posting of temporary parking restriction signage to assist transit and traffic control
• Uniformed police of cers at key intersections to conduct manual traffic control