You’ve been going under it; soon you can go on it – Atlantic Street overpass over 99 to open Monday

Driving/riding between West Seattle and downtown on 99, you’ve been going under the under-construction Atlantic Street Overpass just south of the remaining elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct for months. Now, it’s about to open. The announcement ahead:

On Monday, Jan. 27, the Washington State Department of Transportation will open a new overpass to the west of Seattle’s stadiums. By allowing traffic to bypass the busy railroad track that crosses South Atlantic Street, the overpass will help move freight and daily commuters faster and more reliably through the area.

Before the overpass can open, crews must close South Atlantic Street and the State Route 99 off-ramp to Atlantic this weekend to complete the connections between the overpass and nearby streets. Both closures will start at 4 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. The South Atlantic Street off-ramp and the new overpass will open to traffic by 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27.

The section of Atlantic beneath SR 99 will remain closed to through traffic until the SR 99 tunnel opens to traffic. Drivers will instead use the new overpass to travel in both directions between Atlantic and Alaskan Way South.

History has shown that it can take a few days for drivers to adjust to changes to their usual travel routes. To ease that transition, a fact sheet with a map to help you get around is attached to this email. In addition, here are some tips that will keep traffic safely moving.

· Truckers can use new freight-only lanes on northbound Alaskan Way South and eastbound Atlantic to get to the new north entrance to the BNSF rail yard on Colorado Avenue South.

· Bicyclists and pedestrians heading east or west can use the sidewalk on the north side of Atlantic or use the overpass when a train blocks the tracks.

· Bicyclists, pedestrians and truckers should be mindful of each other where the path crosses the entrance to Terminal 46.

If you have questions about this project or the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, please email viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov or call 1-888-AWV-LINE (298-5463). Thanks for your patience during the last year and a half of construction.

This flyer has more information, including a map.

West Seattle Hipster January 22, 2014 (6:03 pm)

Thank you for the update, great news!

Joe Szilagyi January 22, 2014 (6:33 pm)

Can anyone use this or just freight, bikers and pedestrians?

WSB January 22, 2014 (6:47 pm)

From the PDF linked at the very bottom of the story:

Getting around
• Drivers will use the new overpass to bypass the busy railroad track that crosses South Atlantic Street. The surface street rail crossing on Atlantic will be closed to through traffic.
• Bicyclists and pedestrians traveling east or west can use the sidewalk on the north side of Atlantic or use the overpass when a train blocks the tracks.
• Truckers can use new freight-only lanes on Alaskan Way and Atlantic to get to the new north entrance to the rail yard on Colorado Avenue South.

sam-c January 22, 2014 (7:06 pm)

so it looks like the off ramp from 99 is closed only. 99 is not closed, right?

Scooterista January 23, 2014 (6:42 am)

Thanks for the update! As someone who uses 99 almost daily, I’ve been wondering what the timeline is for completing the work that forces 99 into a bottleneck immediately after the southbound exit to the West Seattle Bridge. It seems like that has been going on for a long time and it certainly makes travel southbound in the afternoons a sticky mess on weekdays. Are they making any progress there?