Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Tunnel

[Alps]

Here's a video I did showing Alaskan Way without the viaduct. Enjoy!

I don't normally watch road videos, but I had to see Seattle without the viaduct. That looks a lot like West Street in NY mixed with some McCarter Highway in Newark (rail next to road in the northern part). So... ordinary.

[Bruce]

Hopefully it'll look better when the boulevard is completed. At the minimum was should be looking at a better Marion Street bridge design.

[jakeroot]

So... ordinary.

What was once interesting is now..not.

That said, it's gonna be a better place for everyone once the boulevard is complete.

[CardInLex]

Kentuckian here. I've been following this project for years... I actually got to go drive the tunnel a week or so after it opened... Any updates? Is there an estimated time for when the project will be complete. I need to plan a post-COVID trip.

[Bruce]

Kentuckian here. I've been following this project for years... I actually got to go drive the tunnel a week or so after it opened... Any updates? Is there an estimated time for when the project will be complete. I need to plan a post-COVID trip.

The promenade should be finished in 2024, but COVID and budget issues can always push it back further. The viaduct has already been fully demolished and sections of the new street are being built, with some concrete being laid at the south end.

[ErmineNotyours]

Award of Merit, Bridge Tunnel: WSDOT Alaskan Way Tunnel Design Build, SR 99 Deep Bored Tunnel

It's dated September 25, 2019, but it was just mentioned on a morning news radio show today.

[Henry]

Award of Merit, Bridge Tunnel: WSDOT Alaskan Way Tunnel Design Build, SR 99 Deep Bored Tunnel

It's dated September 25, 2019, but it was just mentioned on a morning news radio show today.

I guess Bertha's breakdown and the subsequent delays that resulted are well worth this honor. I commend WSDOT for building an award-winning project that will be the next great thing for Seattle.

[jakeroot]

Going through my YouTube, and I just spotted that my Alaskan Way Tunnel 'first day of tolling' video was posted basically one year ago today. Thus, it's been one year since tolling began!

Have a look back on the first day of tolling. Anyone care to spot the differences compared to today? I haven't been through the tunnel for a couple months, and I don't remember major changes post-tolling. So possibly, nothing has changed.

https://youtu.be/c5q-srPmRfQ

[rte66man]

^^^^^^^^^

Couple of questions. About 30 seconds in, there is an LED Speed Limit sign. Can this be changed based on traffic conditions? Also saw the speed limit in the tunnel is 45 mph.  Is tat fixed or is it also variable?

Last question (asks as ducking), does it ALWAY rain in Seattle? 

[kkt]

Last question (asks as ducking), does it ALWAY rain in Seattle? 

Yes.  You should never come here if you don't like rain.

[jakeroot]

^^^^^^^^^

Couple of questions. About 30 seconds in, there is an LED Speed Limit sign. Can this be changed based on traffic conditions? Also saw the speed limit in the tunnel is 45 mph.  Is tat fixed or is it also variable?

I think it's designed to change, but I've never seen it as anything other than 45. That limit matches the limit north of the tunnel along Aurora Ave.

[Bruce]

The southernmost bit of the new Alaskan Way is now carrying traffic (which has shifted from the west side). I drove by to check it out and came across this nice surprise:



I still don't know exactly where SR 519 goes when it leaves Alaskan Way, but at least there's one shield!

[jakeroot]

I still don't know exactly where SR 519 goes when it leaves Alaskan Way, but at least there's one shield!

For anyone: is this the first time SR-519 has been signed? I don't recall ever seeing shields for it.

In the 167/509 extension thread, I was actually proposing a change to repurpose 519 in Tacoma as part of the 509 freeway extension, on the grounds that it is not signed and that 519 could be re-branded as I-90 Biz. Guess I spoke too soon.

[Bruce]

For anyone: is this the first time SR-519 has been signed? I don't recall ever seeing shields for it.

It was signed before the viaduct demolition began: http://corcohighways.org/?p=992953

[jakeroot]

For anyone: is this the first time SR-519 has been signed? I don't recall ever seeing shields for it.

It was signed before the viaduct demolition began: http://corcohighways.org/?p=992953

Well, and I guess that was quite a while before I ever drove through that area. Seems that signs in that area are far more likely to indicate "TO 99" than reference anything else. Even now.

[TEG24601]

For anyone: is this the first time SR-519 has been signed? I don't recall ever seeing shields for it.

It was signed before the viaduct demolition began: http://corcohighways.org/?p=992953

Well, and I guess that was quite a while before I ever drove through that area. Seems that signs in that area are far more likely to indicate "TO 99" than reference anything else. Even now.

Repurposing SR-519 would be a good idea, as typically, the routes on the west side should match the routes on the east side.  So just renumber SR 519 as SR 304/305 and call it good.  They could even route them in different directions (304 to I-5, 305 to SR 99).

[Plutonic Panda]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

[Sub-Urbanite]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

No. No, it will not.

[Plutonic Panda]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

No. No, it will not.

Very sad if that is the case. It could definitely use it.

[Alps]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

No. No, it will not.

Very sad if that is the case. It could definitely use it.

It really, more than anything, needs another parallel freeway to the 5 and 405.

[kkt]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

No. No, it will not.

Very sad if that is the case. It could definitely use it.

Yes, but I wouldn't expect I-5 expansion to happen either.  Residents would be very hostile, and it would be a big lift requiring removal or drastic rebuild of the Convention Center and Freeway Park downtown.

I-405 being expanded would be a little more likely.  At least the residents would be more friendly to larger freeways and there aren't big expensive structures built on top of it.

[sparker]

The southernmost bit of the new Alaskan Way is now carrying traffic (which has shifted from the west side). I drove by to check it out and came across this nice surprise:



I still don't know exactly where SR 519 goes when it leaves Alaskan Way, but at least there's one shield!

Alaskan Way is WA 519 (and has been on paper) up to the ferry terminal (Bainbridge, Bremerton, Vashon), necessary under WA regs since at least one end of a state ferry must segue onto a state highway, which isn't the case for Vashon Island.  So the other end in Seattle is WA 519.  WA folks, be glad your DOT actually bothers to sign such routes; if it were CA, the only signage would be the BGS at the end of I-90 (if that!).

[Bruce]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

God no. We do not need that at all. Not in a million years.

[Plutonic Panda]

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

God no. We do not need that at all. Not in a million years.

I disagree. It needed it 10 years ago.

[stevashe]

^^^^^^^^^

Couple of questions. About 30 seconds in, there is an LED Speed Limit sign. Can this be changed based on traffic conditions? Also saw the speed limit in the tunnel is 45 mph.  Is tat fixed or is it also variable?

I think it's designed to change, but I've never seen it as anything other than 45. That limit matches the limit north of the tunnel along Aurora Ave.

I've seen lower speed limits driving through it during afternoon rush hour (back in 2019), so yes, it does change. I think the lowest I saw them go was 30. They can also be used to alert of lane closures and hazards, similar to the other per-lane LED signs in the Seattle area. I actually happened to get pictures of this in action, shown below.

Now I wonder if I-5 will ever get the big dog treatment through downtown Seattle. That road needs at least 6 lanes each way.

God no. We do not need that at all. Not in a million years.

I disagree. It needed it 10 years ago.

I like my wide freeways as much as the next roadgeek, but I recognize that while I-5 may "need" many more lanes through downtown if you just take a surface level look at the traffic backups, there are many other factors at play. I-5 already has 5 lanes per direction to the south, and 4 per direction, plus the express lanes, to the north. The reason for reduced lanes downtown is due to the vast amount of traffic demand exiting downtown, and adding more through lanes would only shift the traffic jams to the edges of downtown (not to mention the complete lack of space for said additional lanes). Increasing capacity by eliminating bottlenecks and poor design choices (looking at you, left exits) would have a greater impact for much less cost and actually has at least some chance of being constructed.

For example, WSDOT is painting a third lane through the northbound bottleneck downtown, which should balance things out in terms of capacity to demand and ease traffic through the area.