(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:
DNDC is comprised of reps from community councils and other groups/ organizations around eastern West Seattle. Pigeon Point’s Pete Spalding, acting DNDC chair last night, had requested the briefing – he is one of three West Seattleites on the South Portal Working Group that’s helped WSDOT vet the WS/South Seattle side of the project. (We reported on its most recent meeting here.)
Preedy, as we have noted here before, is a West Seattleite. He opened by mentioning he’s been trying alternate commute methods – the Viaduct construction office is near the stadiums – such as the bus and Water Taxi.
And, he said, those will be indispensable during the big construction closure that will be required when the southbound side of the Viaduct south-end replacement is done in October (as announced two weeks ago) and needs to be connected to the rest of 99 so that the existing south-end mile can be torn down, facilitating construction of its northbound counterpart. “It will be a challenge to a lot of folks, including myself,” he acknowledged.
The work will require a nine-day closure – two weekends bookending a full workweek – and WSDOT has just decided they’re aiming for the closure to start late the night of Friday, October 21st, with 99 reopening by early Monday, October 31st. (The dates COULD change, Preedy cautioned.)
He revealed two other things of note about the closure plan:
-He says SDOT is hoping to have the new 1st Avenue South on/offramp for the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct (aka the eastern section of the West Seattle Bridge, between 99 and I-5) open by then, so that your options for getting to and from downtown will include that and the “currently underutilized” 4th Avenue South exit from the eastbound SSV.
-He says Metro is planning extra buses during the closure. The project team has just had its first meeting about that plan, according to Preedy – he says now that they have dates tentatively identified, they need to discuss alternate routes, timetables, etc., and whether it might be a time to have “every available bus on the street,” with the help of state “mitigation money” provided to the county for transit boosts during the Viaduct construction work. This might call for a dedicated bus corridor on First Avenue South, temporarily removing some street parking during the closure, he suggested. Spalding asked if the issue of banning “low bridge” commute-time openings for marine traffic might be reopened, if only for this time period – the US Coast Guard has twice denied requests for that – and Preedy says it’s under discussion as well.
-When 99 reopens afterward, a 200-yard section of the current south Viaduct will have been demolished as part of the connection work, so you will see an eerie sort of gap.
Once the new southbound section is connected to the rest of 99, it will carry traffic both ways until the northbound section is done – but its permanent purpose is to hold three southbound lanes, while the northbound section will hold three northbound lanes. So far, according to Preedy, the south-end crew has built 4 spans of the 9-span southbound bridge, and they’re expecting to start pouring concrete for the first section of its deck next week.
What makes the new southbound section safer than the current one? A major part of it, he explained, is out of sight – the foundation goes down 280 feet to find stable soil beneath the fill, while the current structure’s foundation only goes down 80 feet.
Another note: They’re hoping to have the dedicated bike/pedestrian trail along the south end done by the end of July, since right now it’s a patchwork of detours not particularly helpful to those who choose to travel by non-motorized means.
Also while speaking to the Delridge District Council, Preedy reminded the group that his part of the construction project does not include any part of the Central Waterfront section – aka “the proposed deep-bore tunnel.” He reiterated that the south-end mile is “designed to hook up to any of the options” that might eventually emerge (tunnel or ?) for replacing the Viaduct’s central section. And he noted once more that the final environmental-impact report on the proposed tunnel is due this summer, at which time – not taking into account the swirling court/election challenges – it would theoretically become the official plan.
Assuming it does, it is still expected to be done and opened in late 2015 (and the south section of 99 will remain two lanes each way until then). Still wondering how West Seattleites will get downtown with an exit-less tunnel? This has been explained before, but it’s a common misunderstanding, so in response to a question, Preedy explained it again: Once the work is all done, whether a tunnel is built or something else, the “new exit into downtown” from northbound 99 will be at King Street, described by Preedy as “five blocks south of (the current one at) Seneca Street.” And he again mentioned the 4th Avenue South exit from the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct (from which you can go north toward downtown, south toward Costco, or for a few, straight ahead into the City light yard).
Another inquiry: Tunnel tolling. An “advisory group” is being commissioned, according to Preedy, so they can sort out what’s not “so high that no one would use the tunnel, but (not) so low that you won’t generate the funding to complete the project.” Its findings are due out in a year or so.
One last question: Is the nine-day closure tentatively planned for Oct. 21-31 the only one of its kind? For Preedy’s project, yes – but he said that when the tunnel (etc.) is done, it would require a similar closure to connect it to the rest of 99 … but that’s not till late 2015, assuming the current schedule holds.
P.S. The interactive timeline for the project has been updated on the WSDOT site – it starts here.
The next Delridge District Council meeting will be a joint meeting with the Southwest District Council, scheduled for 7 pm Wednesday, July 20th, at High Point Neighborhood Center.
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