No update on Highway 99 tunneling schedule yet, stakeholders’ group told

(WSDOT photo from early June, installing new part for the tunnel machine’s cutterhead)
When will the Highway 99 tunneling machine be ready to resume digging?

(Added Monday – slide deck from stakeholders’ meeting)
WSDOT told its longrunning Highway 99/Viaduct stakeholders group today that it really has no idea – its contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners still hasn’t provided a new schedule for when it thinks the machine will be fixed and ready to go. So technically, they still only have a schedule that says it was expected to get going around August 1st, said Brian Nielsen, the new deputy program administrator (replacing Matt Preedy, who left for a job at Sound Transit). “Clearly they’re a couple months behind” where they would have had to have been to make that timeline, he said, but they haven’t heard from STP and will let the public know when they do. Once they start up, Nielsen said, they consider the session “a test section” with “essentially a new machine” for the first 500 feet or so, until they get to “Safe Haven 3,” where they’d have to stop down before going under the Viaduct.

We were the only news organization at the stakeholders’ meeting, held in a meeting room at Safeco Field, so we took notes on a few other items of general interest – they’re ahead:

GROUND SETTLEMENT IN THE PIONEER SQUARE AREA: This month, new meters and ground-monitoring walls have been installed “to help us understand the settlement that’s occurred,” said WSDOT’s Dave Sowers. Things seem stable now, he said.

SEATTLE PUBLIC UTILITIES: Water-main replacement “needs to be done quickly,” because the current water main is at risk of failure; the work zone is on Western Avenue between Yesler and Spring, and is also directly above Highway 99 tunneling machine path. Installation will start in July, SPU’s Ross Hathaway said, continuing into October.

NORTH PORTAL: A traffic shift is coming up later this summer – August 21st-24th, the Battery Street Tunnel and areas just north of it will close to move traffic from Aurora to the new 99 deck in that area. WSDOT says they’ve worked hard to arrange that weekend for the late Friday to early Monday closure.

COLMAN DOCK ACCESS: WSDOT says it’s created almost 70 more spaces on the dock itself to try to keep summer traffic off nearby streets, starting this week. But it’ll still be dicey, so if you’re trying to catch a state ferry westbound, use alternatives, including Fauntleroy, they’re urging.

WATERFRONT PROJECT: Another comment period for the Alaskan Way Viaduct Promenade/Overlook Walk is about to open, with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement going live next Monday, Angela Brady told the stakeholders. Comments will be accepted through waterfrontseattle.org, DEIS@waterfrontseattle.org, and by mail. A public meeting is planned July 22nd. 90 percent design is awaiting public comments – probably spring next year. Budget for total waterfront work remains $1.07 billion, Brady said in response to a question from West Seattle stakeholder rep Vlad Oustimovitch.

SEAWALL: Next Wednesday, central-waterfront businesses reopen after another construction season; “nearly 70 parking spaces will be restored near Waterfront Park, pedestrian loading/unloading zone will be adjacent to Pier 57, exit from the parking area will be at University to the south.” Then the final construction season will start October 1st.

OTHER PROJECTS: A few other projects of interest were reviewed – including the HOV lanes being added to mainline I-90 between Mercer Island and Seattle, with safety upgrades to the Mount Baker and Mercer Island tunnels; 25 more weekend closures are ahead, but not until fall, as they had agreed to have no closures between June and October. Light-rail construction will happen in the express lanes in mid-2017, he said. He also reminded everyone that 520 across Lake Washington will be closed this weekend (which means I-90, preferred by south-end travelers including those from our area, will be busier).

The meeting ended early; no date set for the next one yet, but it’ll likely be in September.

26 Replies to "No update on Highway 99 tunneling schedule yet, stakeholders' group told"

  • LivesInWS June 25, 2015 (7:00 pm)

    “We were the only news organization at the stakeholders’ meeting”

    Wow. We’re lucky to have WSB! Thanks.

  • bolo June 25, 2015 (8:00 pm)

    Well this statement really caught my attention:
    “…but they haven’t heard from STP and will let the public know when they do.”

    Maybe their contract states that they are not allowed to contact STP for updates? Beginning not to trust ’em.

  • ron good June 25, 2015 (8:14 pm)

    , Good Job STP.

  • JanS June 25, 2015 (9:18 pm)

    “clearly they’re a couple of months behind”…ya think?

  • Sheila G June 25, 2015 (10:20 pm)

    Thank you SO much for your attentive vigilance on this issue. I have a question that has been keeping me awake nights: what do we know about the South Portal?

    Will there be a way for West Seattle drivers to exit from 99 North near the South Portal into the Downtown and/or Stadium areas, once the entire Tunnel project is completed?

    Or will we have to take the 4th Avenue South exit from Spokane Street and access Downtown via 4th Avenue South? Does anyone know about the plan? I have looked at the website for the project for over 2 years now, and I still cannot wrap myself around HOW we will get to CenturyLink, Safeco, and Downtown in general, without continuing on to I-5 and heading North to Edgar Martinez. Anyone? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this.

  • West Seattle Steve June 25, 2015 (11:14 pm)

    @ Shelia G
    The short answer is the Senica St exit moves about 10 blocks south to the Stadium area.

  • Sheila G June 26, 2015 (12:37 am)

    Thanks for the link, Tracy…I think it’s the same one I have been staring at for the past two years or so!

    @ West Seattle Steve: Thanks for the information. So about 10 blocks south of Seneca, huh? That would make it around S. Atlantic? Or even farther south?

  • WSB June 26, 2015 (12:42 am)

    If you look at the map graphic, it shows the streets. Just look for the “northbound 99 offramp to Alaskan Way” and note the cross-streets.

  • Sheila G June 26, 2015 (1:00 am)

    Oh now I get it! Looks like S. Dearborn is the first opportunity to go east-west. Thanks so much for clarifying the access to stadiums etc.

  • dsa June 26, 2015 (1:03 am)

    How do you get to Magnolia, Interbay or Ballard?

  • Nick June 26, 2015 (3:28 am)

    What a disaster this project has become. Wish they would just tear down the viaduct and build a new one.

  • Jim June 26, 2015 (7:11 am)

    @ Shelia G

    I think you will find that the North 99 ramp we are now taking to get on the viaduct, IS the future exit ramp.

  • bolo June 26, 2015 (7:36 am)

    Could it be that STP is winding down the clock until Big Bertha’s warrantee expires, so equipment repairs would then be on the taxpayers’ dime?

    How about calling it Bogged Bertha?

  • Les June 26, 2015 (8:27 am)

    What abut the Battery St. tunnel will that remain open ?

    • WSB June 26, 2015 (8:29 am)

      It will be decommissioned.

  • wscommuter June 26, 2015 (8:54 am)

    I think folks will see that actually, we’ll have better access to more streets into downtown once both the tunnel is done, and the revisions made to Alaskan Way. I suspect Alaskan Way, with new connections eastward, will become a route of choice for us.
    .
    @Jim … really? If you think this project is an unacceptable mess, then please tell me how you’d feel about the 3 years of hell we’d all go through while a new viaduct would be built with no access at all. Were you here for the day after the Nisqually quake? You want three years of that?

  • Eric June 26, 2015 (10:33 am)

    How about taking the $2billion remaining and pouring it into light rail that would take us from downtown to Ballard? That would work great for commuters and residents, though less well for businesses that rely on trucking…

  • wscommuter June 26, 2015 (11:43 am)

    @Eric … not sure I understand your post (and I’m all for light rail from W. Sea to downtown to Ballard). Are you suggesting we abandon completing the throughway that is currently the Alaskan Way Viaduct/SR 99?
    .
    If so, while I guess I admire your sentiment, it is not at all based in reality. As much as I’d love to see light rail built, there is no escaping the need for a north-south access route for cars through downtown. I-5 is sadly, pathetically, a choke point that cannot be expanded due to poor decisions made decades ago. We simply can’t lose the SR 99 corridor, and especially, those of us in W. Sea, Burien, etc.

  • Sheila G June 26, 2015 (12:29 pm)

    @ dsa — Yes indeed! How far north will the ‘new’ Alaskan Way go? I wonder if it will connect smoothly with Western/Elliott? Though as I type this, I have to say that exiting the northbound viaduct at Western is one heckuva traffic logjam these days. Getting to Crown Hill (north Ballard) from the Alaska Junction normally takes 55 minutes !!! on a weekday afternoon. On Sunday mornings it only takes 18-20 minutes.

  • BlairJ June 26, 2015 (12:42 pm)

    It would be a mistake to decommission the Battery Street Tunnel. It serves as a valuable route from the north waterfront to Lake Union and points north when the surface streets in the Regrade are congested or closed. Think parades, marathons, events at the Seattle Center or just heavy traffic. Instead of closing it as soon as the new tunnel opens, they should leave it open for a trial period to see how much use it gets without the viaduct.

  • Sheila G June 26, 2015 (2:04 pm)

    @ BlairJ — Yes, I’ve been wondering what all of these 5K, 10K, and marathons will do once the viaduct is down and the tunnel ‘decommissioned’. Will Alaskan Way be closed to vehicles and used for these races? (I hope NOT.) At present, when the viaduct is closed for a race, one can use surface streets to get from West Seattle to Magnolia and Ballard. It takes a bit longer than using the viaduct and the tunnel but workable when you have enough advance notice. But without critical North-South surface streets, there won’t be viable options if one must drive from West Seattle to Magnolia or Ballard. I suppose the powers-that-be are hoping we will just become exasperated enough to pay the blasted toll for the new tunnel…Maybe the organizers of these charity races could be required to pay for free passage through the new tunnel during the hours that they use surface streets for their races???

  • ChefJoe June 26, 2015 (2:46 pm)

    BlairJ, the plan is to fill it in to restore a grid system across Denny, John, Thomas, and Harrison and connect those N downtown streets so they funnel into SR99 N easier.

    Here you go, 3:20 into this video.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=31&v=jwSPmJw8JxY

  • Kate Martin June 26, 2015 (3:27 pm)

    Hi.

    Check out Initiative 123: Alaskan Way Elevated Park + other amenities.

    http://initiative123.org

    Thanks.

  • wb June 28, 2015 (10:20 am)

    Thanks kate,obviously a backup option needs to be implemented.

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