More Saturday previews a bit later, but first, one last reminder: The Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to be closed in both directions 8:15-11:30 am for the Puget Sound Heart Walk. (And if you’re heading back west on The Bridge, watch for an unrelated lane closure today.)

Five prominent supporters of the plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bored tunnel and other road/transit projects summoned reporters to Ivar’s Acres of Clams on the downtown waterfront today, saying they needed to correct “falsehoods,” “confusion” and “mis-impressions” that they say are circulating. They blame the “falsehoods” in particular on some political campaigns, specifically citing the campaigns of two anti-tunnel candidates, mayoral hopeful Mike McGinn (who calls the tunnel “unnecessary”) and council hopeful Mike O’Brien (whose tunnel concerns are detailed here). First, the group pointed to the numbers in the graphic you see above: While opponents refer to it as a “$4 billion tunnel,” they note the tunnel itself will cost about half of that total transportation package. State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a sponsor of the legislation that made the tunnel plan law, says there’s a “sizable built-in contingency” for the estimated $1.9-$2.2 billion tunnel cost “so cost overruns will be very unlikely and if any minimal.”

She also reiterated that the controversial amendment saying Seattle property owners would have to pay for overruns would almost certainly not hold up in court, if there was any attempt to apply it. And she stressed it was “not an easy feat” to get the tunnel plan through the Legislature in the first place. Briefing participants also stressed that they believe this is the only plan that will “keep traffic flowing” while it’s built. We asked about some West Seattleites’ concerns that accessibility will be hampered by the fact there are no downtown exits in the tunnel:

Read More

If you click each marker on that map, you’ll see information about the state’s plans to drill there as part of the geotechnical work in the Viaduct/Tunnel/etc. project (which put together the map). Starting next Monday, the pedestrian/bicycle “multi-use trail” along Alaskan Way will be closed for some of that drilling, as per this notice from the Viaduct project, forwarded by local pedestrian advocate Chas Redmond:

Drilling work will close the multi-use trail along Alaskan Way S. between S. Royal Brougham Way and S. Dearborn Street during the week of July 13.

Starting on Monday, July 13, crews will drill three holes in the multi-use path (see map above) that runs adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

What you can expect during this work:

* The section of the multi-use path between S. Royal Brougham Way and S. Dearborn Street will be closed approximately Monday through Friday (July 13-17).
* Detour routes will be clearly identified; bicycle traffic will be diverted to Alaskan Way S., and pedestrian traffic will be diverted across the street to the sidewalk on the west side of Alaskan Way S.
* Signage will be placed near the path one day in advance to notify cyclists and pedestrians about the closure and detour.
* Excavation will take between three and five business days to complete; all work will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
* When drilling is complete, the surface of the multi-use path will be restored and detour signage removed.

More drilling work throughout the summer

The drillings on the multi-use path are part of a series of drillings that will be completed throughout the summer. A map and schedule for this work are available on our Web site at www.alaskanwayviaduct.com/Current_Work.htm

Questions or concerns about this work can be directed to our hotline at 1-888-AWV-LINE or program e-mail at viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.

We appreciate your patience and understanding, and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this work may cause. We will continue to inform you of upcoming work that may affect pedestrian routes.

If you didn’t see it Saturday — either via WSB or via being stuck in it in person — Creighton sent that photo of the eastbound bridge backup during the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s shutdown for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon (compounded by other road changes/closures). SDOT did send out lots of advance warning, as noted here and elsewhere, but on Saturday, numerous WSBers reported that the “Viaduct Closed” warning lights in West Seattle and on The Bridge weren’t on. Marybeth Turner from SDOT acknowledges it was human error, not a mechanical problem:

SDOT’s procedure for using the warning lights that alert motorists that the Viaduct is closed is clear: in coordination with the Seattle Police Department, if the Viaduct is closed, the lights should be on. This weekend, the policy was not followed. We have re-acquainted and re-focused key staff on our procedure.

Something similar happened last October. The lights were installed in late 2007. ADDED 12:51 PM: So if it DOES happen again, whether a human or mechanical failure, is there a hotline to call? we asked. Turner’s reply:

People may call (206) 386-1218 and report the lights are not functioning. There is someone on hand to answer this phone 24-hours a day.

That’s the same number you’d call about emergency road problems “after hours.”

The warnings were issued but not everybody could stay home, and we’ve received reports that it’s been a nightmare, as feared, to travel off the peninsula today. And from within the past hour, here’s pictorial proof, from Creighton. (The Viaduct should be open again before too long, but remember, other events around the city are affecting traffic patterns. Here at the Westwood Village Street Fair, where we’re reporting “live” till 7 pm, only thing closed is the Bed Bath Beyond parking lot where many activities are centered.)

That chart is courtesy of Metro reps we talked with at today’s meeting of the South Portal Working Group that’s helping the state, city, county and port work through the process of planning how all the major transportation projects between here and downtown are going to fit together. The chart gives a simplified version of the newest projected construction timelines laid out at the meeting, and it’s what Metro is using to explain why it wants to delay the launch of the West Seattle RapidRide bus line that was originally planned for 2011. We first reported the delay proposal last week, after it was announced to the King County Regional Traffic Committee; Metro’s Victor Obeso confirmed to us in a followup conversation that the construction timetable is the reason they want to hold off on using the term RapidRide (and its signature elements). As the chart shows, late 2011 through early 2012 is the period with the most overlapping construction impacts, so Metro wants to hold off on RR branding till late 2012. Today, King County’s Ron Posthuma reiterated that increased bus service will be available starting in early 2010 (that includes the 54 and 55 routes, Obeso told us last week), as announced last September, funded from $30 million mitigation money from the state to make up for the impacts of the Viaduct-replacement project. And according to a one-sheet he provided at today’s meeting (containing the chart you see above), other elements of RapidRide will kick in sooner as well:

Metro is committed to working with the City of Seattle and the State to improve the transit priority pathways between West Seattle and downtown Seattle. Capital facility improvements, including signal priority, bus bulbs and transit lanes, to improve the speed and reliability of service in West Seattle currently being planned and designed in the RapidRide corridor would be constructed during 2010 and 2011. Existing routes and riders will benefit from these improvements as they come on line. Metro is proposing the delay in the RapidRide branded passenger facility including shelters and other amenities.

The same one-sheet details the increased West Seattle service as follows:

Starting in February 2010, Metro is proposing adding additional trips during weekday peak hours to and from West Seattle … During the remainder of 2010, mitigation funding will support the following:
-Additional peak trips on routes serving heavy ridership corridors impacted by (viaduct) construction.
-Additional trips in the West Seattle RapidRide corridor between Fauntleroy Ferry, Alaska Junction, and downtown Seattle.
-Maintenance of existing route schedules

One more RapidRide note: The notion of a Delridge RapidRide line seems to have slid further into a dateless future — according to the response received when Pigeon Point resident Pete Spalding (one of West Seattle’s three South Portal group reps) asked why it wasn’t mentioned on the current documents, though it had appeared on “hybrid scenario” renderings earlier in the Viaduct-replacement-discussion process. Posthuma said the county is still “looking at it” but wouldn’t get more specific. Meantime, we’re writing separately about the other information revealed at today’s South Portal Working Group meeting (for a sneak preview, look at the WSB Twitter feed and scroll down a bit; one commenter there said it sounds like a scenario that will make her want to telecommute for about six years).

Lots of state and city experts here waiting to answer your questions and listen to your thoughts regarding the new plan for replacing the Central Waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct — the sun’s streaming through the west-facing wall of windows at the Madison Middle School compound. Among those here in the early going, two of West Seattle’s three representatives on the South Portal working group that’s hashing out some of the access issues, Pete Spalding (left) and Vlad Oustimovitch:

Also here now, Mark Wainwright of the Admiral Neighborhood Association, who is on the Central Waterfront working group (as is another West Seattleite, Chas Redmond). You can leave a written comment here, or say your comment out loud to a transcriber who is standing by waiting to listen (and type). As Kristy Van Ness from WSDOT explains, they want to hear your concerns about the plan, to help shape the “scope” of the environmental impact studies before anything is built — that’s why this is called a “scoping” meeting. In case you can’t make it here tonight, we’ll add info in a bit on the other ways you can contribute your comments; the draft environmental-impact report isn’t due out till early next year. Also at the event: The campaign to get an anti-tunnel measure on the ballot – still collecting signatures till next month.

6-8 pm tomorrow at Madison Middle School, it’s your next major chance to find out — and speak out — about the plan to replace the Central Waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bored tunnel. Reps from the state Transportation Department (which is advertising the meeting on WSB to help get the word out) and other involved agencies/departments will be on hand both to answer your questions and to take your comments, to help shape the environmental-studies process required before tunnel-building can begin. It’s open-house format, so drop by any time between 6 and 8. And remember it’s not just about the tunnel itself – these meetings also offer information about component projects (such as the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project taking shape alongside the east section of the West Seattle Bridge). In the meantime, three working groups continue meeting to discuss specifics regarding how the tunnel and other components of the “transportation corridor” will work — read on for the latest on what they’re up to:Read More