(Machinery photographed at Highway 99 tunnel launch-pit site by Don Brubeck)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Highway 99 tunneling machine is here, and being re-assembled. But once it goes into the ground, it won’t be “out of sight, out of mind” by any means.

Drivers and bus riders, in particular, might wind up noticing in a big way:

WSB has learned that the Alaskan Way Viaduct might close for an unspecified amount of time later this year when the machine arrives 80 feet below what remains of the elevated roadway, despite the work that’s been done to reinforce it so it could stay “safely open” during the tunnel construction.

We first heard about this last night from Don Brubeck, president of West Seattle Bike Connections, who mentioned it during an unrelated presentation at the Morgan Community Association meeting (separate coverage of that is in the works).

Brubeck explained that SDOT director Peter Hahn brought up the potential Viaduct closure during this week’s Freight Advisory Board meeting; it’s noted in Brubeck’s meeting notes on the new WSBC website. He quoted Hahn as saying that local transportation authorities are gearing up now to get the word out about alternative transportation.

Since The Viaduct is part of a state highway – and the tunnel, a state project – we followed up this morning with WSDOT spokesperson Travis Phelps.

He confirmed that WSDOT is talking about a possible closure when the tunneling machine goes under what he described as the southernmost part of what’s left of the elevated Viaduct, but said no final decision has been made yet.

What’s the timetable for that decision? Sometime this spring, according to Phelps – maybe by the time the project-related “working groups” have their meeting in early May. Right now, they’re still hashing out details such as, “how long would we close it if we close it?” and the idea is “just sort of out there.”

He also mentioned that even once the machine goes into the ground, it starts with “three safe havens” that are more or less test digs before it really gets to the dirt.

You’ll recall the Viaduct itself already has been the subject of extensive reinforcement work, mostly done during overnight and weekend closures over the past year-plus. In a March 2012 news release, deputy program administrator Matt Preedy was quoted as saying that the reinforcement work “allows us to keep the viaduct safely open to traffic while we build the tunnel …” but apparently that assessment is evolving.

We’ll keep following up to see what WSDOT decides.

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
With the Jumbo Fairpartner finally docking on Saturday – four days after its much-watched arrival in Elliott Bay – its cargo, the Highway 99 tunnel machine dubbed “Bertha,” is now coming ashore in its 41 pieces. Today, the most recognizable one – its “face,” aka cutterhead – was offloaded. WSDOT invited media onto the site for a quick look, and WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there.

The media opportunity ended before the machine’s 886-ton cutterhead was moved off the dock – but there were interesting views of the launch pit too, ahead:

Here’s the superstructure over the pit:

Looking further down from that angle – note the scale, compared to the size of the workers on the catwalk:

If you are wondering how exactly the machine works – here’s a video that WSDOT released a while back:

Back to today’s photos – one more look at where the machine is headed:

From a distance, you can continue watching via webcam.

The actual digging is expected to start sometime this summer, with the tunnel’s completion date currently pegged at late 2015. Lots more info is on the same page as the webcam.

(WSDOT photo from this afternoon, added here Saturday night)
Since its arrival Tuesday, the Jumbo Fairpartner – carrying “Bertha” the tunneling machine, in 41 pieces – has been anchored off West Seattle’s northeastern shore. Today, it finally sailed the rest of the way to Terminal 46, which means the WSDOT webcam is now live – it’s a live-video camera, too. The most recent tweet from @BerthaDigsSR99 says unloading might start later today.

(Newest photo: 1:05 pm cameraphone view from Jack Block Park)
10:45 AM: The Jumbo Fairpartner, a heavy-lift ship carrying the custom-built Highway 99 tunnel machine nicknamed “Bertha,” is approaching Seattle – so we’re going on Bertha watch. For its latest position, check this MarineTraffic.com link – it’s traveling down the west side of Whidbey Island as we type this. Here’s the official WSDOT page with Bertha background and links – the state promises a live webcam as Bertha’s ship approaches its berth at Terminal 46. If you use Twitter, follow @BerthaDigsSR99. More shortly.

11:13 AM: Approaching Edmonds now, though it’s currently closer to the Kitsap County side than the Snohomish County side.

11:35 AM: Passing Kingston, per MarineTraffic.com.

11:58 AM: Seeing it in the distance from mid-Alki. If you’re coming down to the beach (or points east) for a look, get going!

12:12 PM: Bertha is now turning toward Elliott Bay. You can’t miss the cranes. Another pic shortly.

12:31 PM: Just substituted new photo above – still clearly visible from Alki but closer to the other side of the bay. Jack Block, Seacrest, Don Armeni will have good views shortly.

1:05 PM: The Fairpartner is now approaching Jack Block Park, where WSDOT executives have gathered to talk with the media, so we’ve moved there. Newest photo is atop this story.

1:30 PM: Adding a few more. The ship has stopped, for now, a ways off the park. WSDOT deputy program administrator Matt Preedy (above), the West Seattleite who you see so often speaking about the projects in this area, is here and says it’s going to anchor for a while; currently, the ship is pivoting to some degree. This is about the closest view we’re getting:

1:42 PM: WSDOT reps confirm to us here at Jack Block that Bertha is not coming all the way in to dock today – preparation will be done on ship and on shore, and they’re working around other marine traffic. Meantime, we have more great photos in the inbox, beyond what we’ve been sharing – here’s what WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli sent from Columbia Center downtown:

We’ll add more photos in a bit – and will get on to other news, too.

ADDED 4:52 PM: Also from Christopher, the pit that “Bertha” is destined for:

From WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams, the Fairpartner and The Needle:

Jesse Doerr photographed the ship looking out over its eventual docking area:

Chi Duong‘s photo is from downtown:

And Adam Dunko‘s is from Hamilton Viewpoint in North Admiral:

Still more to check out – thanks!

EARLY TUESDAY: Got a tip around 1:30 am that Fairpartner now shows up on MarineTraffic.com – just put its name in the “vessel” box.

TUESDAY 8:30 AM: We’re tracking Bertha right now in the daily traffic report, and will switch that over to a standalone report a bit later.

In less than two weeks, it’ll be quite a spectacle along West Seattle (and other) shores, so you might as well get ready now. The ship above, the Jumbo Fairpartner, set sail hours ago from Osaka, Japan, carrying “Bertha,” the Highway 99 tunnel-boring machine. WSDOT says it’ll arrive around April 1st – no foolin’! The machine is in 41 pieces as it begins its 5,000-mile journey across the Pacific, bound for Terminal 46 on the downtown waterfront, where it will be unloaded and reassembled before it starts heading north from the launch pit just south of where what’s left of the Alaskan Way Viaduct ends. WSDOT is already tweeting about the trip at @BerthaDigsSR99.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

WIth the south mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct gone and the tunneling to the north about to begin, WSDOT is planning to consolidate the quarterly meetings of its citizen/business advisory groups.

The groups, it should be noticed, are far from perfunctory. The map above – showing the traffic reconfiguration in the works for the about-to-start “timber bridge” project on Highway 99 – is an example of the groups’ value, the result of a recent request by one West Seattle member.

More on that, ahead. First: After gaining some reassurances that their issues won’t be lost in the ensuing shuffle, members of the South Portal Working Group – which has focused on what’s happening and coming up in the West Seattle/SODO areas — agreed that would be OK with them.

That was the final point on the agenda of that group’s most recent meeting, held in the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project headquarters’ 23rd-floor conference room downtown. The group had been meeting in Sound Transit‘s board room, but that location was described as “unavailable … for a while.”

Toplines from the wide-ranging agenda – tolling, tunneling, even RapidRide ridership – ahead, along with the details on the map’s origins and the project launch:

You can follow along via the slide deck, or watch for the images we’ve sampled below – see the entire presentation here.

First item: Status of the planning for Highway 99 tunnel tolling, as multiple scenarios are studied, with tolls from 45 cents to $4. (Here’s the latest from the committee working on that.)

The key observations, if you haven’t been closely following this chapter of the tunnel saga: “Overall, none of the scenarios achieve the goal of covering” everything they want to cover. Scenario #1 – $1 to $2.25 – came the closest, Chandler said, but it and the other two still had substantial “diversion” (vehicles avoiding the tunnel to avoid the toll), 25 to 40 percent. If there’s no toll, he noted, 85,000 vehicles would use the tunnel daily – but with various toll options, it drops dramatically from there – and, as revealed in follow-up questioning, even 85,000 is nowhere near the tunnel’s total capacity.

“We’d like to have as many vehicles in the tunnel as possible since that’s why we’re building it,” but no “sweet spot” has been found so far. The studying of more options will start again in March, looking (next meeting March 13) at 0 to $3 options. Follow-up questions also revealed that they would be looking at whether starting with a given toll and increasing it over time might work better.

What about looking at more stable funding besides tolling? asked South Park’s Marty Oppenheimer.

99/Viaduct deputy program administrator Matt Preedy replied that “it’s too early for us to say” since they haven’t finished fully studying tolling.

“It’s an interesting question,” allowed Chandler. But King County’s Ron Posthuma threw “a bucket of cold water” on the idea of an untolled tunnel, saying that other jurisdictions are already upset at the likelihood tolling will not raise what it originally was supposed to.

On to Metro (Transit) matters:

Planner David Hull recapped the September service change, saying its results are expected to have increased ridership by 600,000 trips annually. He recapped issues with which you may be well acaquainted – “crowding and reliability” issues on RapidRide C and D Lines, “increased downtown travel time on some routes” (a minute more on surface streets).

“Corrective actions taken” were listed as service added to RapidRide, Route 55, and Route 120, revised routings through downtown, and stops removed from the I-90 stop pattern (addressing issues for a different part of the area). “Some of the crowding was caused by bunching of buses,” he noted. He says now 27 of the 29 Transit Signal Priority spots are up and running – will the green time be extended or red time shortened when a bus is approaching.

He mentioned Arbor Heights briefly, acknowledging “substantial span reductions” even though “a little work has been done” to restore the span a bit (including a tweak that took effect in the service change this past Saturday).

How many seats available, as compared to before the change? asked Pete Spalding, one of two West Seattle reps on hand at this meeting. 58 in a hybrid coach, 49 in a RapidRide bus, said Hull, but yes, fewer seats, because the RR coaches “are designed to have fewer seats and more standing room.”

Spalding pressed on with West Seattle RapidRide concerns and other complaints related to the end-of-September “service change.” Hull said he hasn’t heard about issues with the 125 and 128, but he noted that RapidRide is doing better on-time than Route 54 (which it replaced) did – 80 percent to 70 percent.

He showed a graph (above) showing a 29 percent higher passenger load in the morning from West Seattle and 35 percent more headed back in the evening – 1,500 more riders per day, they believe, according to “preliminary data.”

He also had a graph showing that “crush loaded” – leaving people behind at the curb – trips have gone down in the RapidRide C Line pm peak trips headed back this way:

Another Metro graphic looked at service on 1st Avenue South, which was changed in the stadium zone more than a year ago because of “increased construction” and might be restored, Hull said, depending on what happens when Viaduct construction ends though. From Metro’s standpoint, he said, it’s “working well” – but committee member Susan Ranf from the Mariners said she had heard that some have dropped out of nearby Starbucks HQ’s commute-trip-reduction program because of the reduced 1st Avenue S. service. South Park rep Oppenheimer also brought up a lengthened travel time for an employee of his who commutes from Magnolia; Hull said that might be because her routes require a transfer she didn’t make before.

The topic of 99-related transit funding came up next, and King County’s Ron Posthuma picked that up. As Metro management told the city earlier this week, the money meant to “mitigate” 99 construction would run out in the middle of next year. And the other problem he said is that “our sales tax revenues continue to tank.”

No solutions – just an advisory note.

99 SOUTH END CONSTRUCTION: Matt Preedy picked it up from there, showing the launch pit construction, which is scheduled to continue into spring. You’ll see lots more equipment arriving in the months ahead, he said, like these two big cylinders in the area:

That’s the “jet grout plant” you can see from The Viaduct, for an operation similar to what will be involved in the forthcoming seawall.

Soil spoils will come up from the launch pit via a conveyor like the one shown above and will go onto barges via a 5-acre site which also is where the tunnel-boring machine pieces will be brought in March/April. The conveyor is a long white chute, as shown via a slide deck. The largest rock they expect to bring through it is 3 feet. A rock that big would weigh hundreds of pounds.

Underground walls have been built to protect the launch area for the tunnel-boring machine. It gets tested three times, Preedy explained – 1st round is happening now in Japan at the factory.

Oppenheimer asked about the testing problem found in Japan – involving some damage to the machine. Preedy said, “They have it all taken apart now and are correcting the issue” and will test it before taking it apart again to put on a ship for the cross-Pacific trip:

He also updated the South Atlantic overpass work, which will continue through the end of this year, and will be “cast in place” – false work is what they’re putting up now. When it’s opened, it will still be missing one piece, a Marginal/Alaskan Way connection that won’t be added till the tunnel opens, he explained.

The tunneling machine should show up by sea around the end of March, and tunneling is scheduled to begin at midsummer.

TIMBER BRIDGE: This is the project to replace the wooden structure that comprises part of 99 south of the West Seattle Bridge. Next Monday, February 25, is the start of work, as previously reported here, through July of next year. But this coming weekend, there will be a weekend-long 99 closure to switch the traffic, and after that, it’ll be two lanes northbound and one southbound for the construction duration. Since more than half the southbound traffic gets off 99 at the West Seattle Bridge, they don’t believe the single lane will be a problem.

Where will the lane reduction leading up to it kick in? asked West Seattle’s Spalding, citing concern about backups. The WSDOT rep said there’ll be a “drop lane” to the West Seattle Bridge, but the narrowing to a single lane won’t start till south of there. Spalding continued to press for details, so Preedy promised WSDOT would come up with a schematic to share – and that is the map you see at the very top of this story. We are still confirming details of the closure this weekend, as there’s conflicting information as of this writing, on various WSDOT/SDOT webpages.

I-5 SPOKANE STREET INTERCHANGE SPECIAL BRIDGE REPAIR: So far, WSDOT said, its weekend closures had gone well; no traffic woes yet but the weekends of March 29 and April 5 will include I-5 mainline lane closures for expansion-joint replacements, and that will likely have some impact. (This is the project that closed the I-5 and Beacon Hill ramps at the east end of the eastbound West Seattle Bridge this past weekend; its next close is the weekend of March 2-3.)

MERCER CORRIDOR PROJECT: Find out about all the changes by going to seattle.gov/ransportation/ppmp_mercer.htm

ONE GROUP? Preedy now says that they are presenting pretty much the same info to the South and North groups – each of which is getting a certain amount of regulars attending these quarterly meetings – and maybe they could meet jointly. Spalding expresses skepticism – if North End info is included, how much longer would the meeting be? Preedy says they could structure the meeting in a way that makes it work. Looks like they WILL combine, as of next quarterly meeting – location, day, time TBA. And at that meeting, which probably will be in May, they will have more info on the future of transit, bicycle, and other non-car/truck uses.

And so – what ABOUT the Sodo arena, asks the ILWU rep? Preedy says WSDOT has no official position but is “very interested” in the impacts to the state highway system … “There will be a point in time where we will have to engage on those points, but it is a little early,” he said. The Seattle Tunnel Partners rep had left by that point, which somewhat limited the ensuing discussion.

For more information on what the working groups have been discussing, and to watch for future agendas, go here.

January 14 to January 17, Southbound SR99 will be closed between the Battery St Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge from 10 PM to 5 AM the following morning. The Elliott Ave and Columbia St onramps will also be closed. One lane of northbound SR 99 will be closed from S Holgate St to S Royal Brougham Way during these times.

You’ll recall these closures were frequent for a few months last year; we’ll check with WSDOT tomorrow to see if this is isolated, or the start of a new wave of shutdowns.

12:08 PM: Thanks to Travis Phelps at WSDOT for adding the info in comments – before we even had sent the inquiry – that this will be happening the next three weeks.

Crews working with the Washington State Department of Transportation will close the southbound State Route 99 off-ramp near Seattle’s stadiums this weekend to complete pile driving for the new South Atlantic Street overpass.

Thanks to hard work last weekend, contractor Atkinson Construction will not close a lane on southbound SR 99 as previously planned. Crews were able to drive 48 of 53 pilings last weekend. They will drive the remaining five pilings and finish welding on another 20 pilings while the ramp is closed this weekend.

Closure details
· At 4 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, crews will close the southbound SR 99 off-ramp to South Atlantic Street.

· Crews will reopen the ramp at 2:30 p.m. Sunday for fans heading to the Seahawks game at CenturyLink field. The ramp will be closed again at 5:30 p.m., 10 minutes after kickoff.

· The ramp will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

“We know that many Seahawks fans rely on the South Atlantic off-ramp to get to CenturyLink Field, so we worked with Atkinson to limit traffic disruptions before the game,” Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program Deputy Administrator Matt Preedy said.

Crews must close the ramp to safely complete work on the remaining pilings, which are located just west of the ramp. The pilings will serve as the foundation of a temporary structure that will support construction of the South Atlantic Street overpass until it can stand on its own.

The overpass is part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. It will help move freight and daily commuters faster by eliminating long waits for trains at the rail crossing in front of the Port of Seattle terminal on South Atlantic Street.

Construction on the overpass started last summer and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013.

(WSDOT rendering of the 99 “south portal” including the future overpass)
First road-work announcement for 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct in a while – from WSDOT:

Drivers should plan for delays on southbound State Route 99 through downtown Seattle the next two weekends. Crews working for WSDOT will reduce SR 99 to one lane near the stadiums and close the southbound off-ramp to South Atlantic Street. During the closures crews will drive more than 50 pilings to support construction of the new South Atlantic Street overpass.

Dec. 14-17 weekend

Crews will close the right lane of southbound SR 99 between Columbia Street and South Royal Brougham Way and the southbound SR 99 off-ramp to South Atlantic Street from 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, to 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17.

Dec. 21-24 weekend

Crews will close the right lane of southbound SR 99 between Columbia Street and South Royal Brougham Way and the southbound off-ramp to South Atlantic Street from 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, to 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 24.
Crews will reopen all lanes of SR 99 and the South Atlantic Street off-ramp two hours prior to the Sunday, Dec. 23, Seahawks game at CenturyLink Field. The ramp and southbound lane will close again an hour after kickoff, and reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 24

Construction on the overpass started last summer and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. The overpass will improve mobility by allowing freight haulers and commuters to bypass the rail crossing near the entrance to the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 46.

Monday, Oct. 15 – the morning of Friday, Oct. 19 – First Avenue South will be closed between South King Street and Railroad Way South [map] from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly. Note: on Wednesday, Oct. 17 the closure start time will be delayed until two hours after the Sounders game at CenturyLink Field.

Yet another reminder if you see this before Monday night – ALL transportation/traffic/transit topics are on the table for the Sustainable West Seattle Community Forum that night (October 15th), 7 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon; WSB sponsor).

99/ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT CLOSURE REMINDER: In case you’ve somehow missed it – one last reminder before tomorrow, Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge will be closed in BOTH DIRECTIONS for most of the weekend. The closure for the twice-yearly inspection (and ongoing maintenance work) is scheduled to start at 6 am Saturday and end no later than 4 pm Sunday. Bus riders, note there is a reroute associated with this too:

From Saturday morning, October 6 at 6:00 AM, until Sunday afternoon, October 7 at 4:00 PM, Metro bus routes 120, 125, & the RapidRide C Line will be rerouted off the Alaskan Way Viaduct to accommodate work being performed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Viaduct bus routes will use alternate surface streets instead to and from the West Seattle Bridge. The only bus stops that will be missed are westbound on Columbia St at 2nd Av when leaving downtown to West Seattle, and eastbound on Seneca St between 2nd and 3rd avenues when arriving downtown. Heading to West Seattle, board buses southbound on 3rd Av between Seneca and Spring streets, or just south of Columbia St. There are not stops after Columbia St.

SPOKANE ST. VIADUCT RAMP CLOSURE SATURDAY MORNING: Also, a reminder that the 1st Avenue South OFFRAMP on the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to be closed 3 am-9 am Saturday.

WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI RUNS FOR SOUNDERS FANS: This Sunday, and again October 21st, the county will add West Seattle Water Taxi runs for Sunday night Sounders games. See the shaded times on the schedule. (And remember that the WT will change to its offseason schedule at the end of this month – starting Monday, October 29th.)

SPOKANE STREET VIADUCT: Nothing in the coming week, says SDOT.

ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT/99: Tonight through Thursday night, it’s closed southbound, 9 pm-5 am, between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, says WSDOT.

P.S. If you drive through SODO, remember that there’s a Seahawks game Monday night and a Huskies game Thursday night, both likely to affect traffic. As noted here on Friday, the West Seattle Water Taxi has late-night runs for both games.