Tunnel-digging – which resumed today – is NOT all that’s happening along the Highway 99 corridor nearest us. The photo above, shared by WSDOT on the WSB Flickr page, shows what’s being dug next to the tunnel machine’s launch pit south of what’s left of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. This site will hold the South Portal Operations Building for the tunnel, explained by WSDOT: “The building – along with a similar one at the tunnel’s future north portal – will house the equipment needed for the safe operation of the tunnel, including emergency generators, ventilation fans and parking space for maintenance vehicles.”
This project is part of what the combined Stakeholders Groups were briefed about last Tuesday. We cover those quarterly-or-so briefings when we can, because they are usually chock full of news about road projects affecting us, but this time it was in direct conflict with the big Seattle Public Schools announcement – so we weren’t there. However, the presentation from the meeting is online now, and if you want a quick update on what’s up, the toplines include:
*Findings on another tunnel-tolling scenario (page 4)
*More on the aforementioned South Portal building and the Atlantic St. overpass (page 8)
*Progress report on the Highway 99 timber bridge project south of the WS Bridge (page 50)
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