The West Seattle Bridge-to-Battery Street Tunnel section of Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed all weekend for continuing reinforcement work, pre-tunnel construction – and that can lead to scenes like this one, shared by Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor). You can check West Seattle-relevant traffic cams “live” on the WSB Traffic page if you have to head that way before the scheduled reopening early Monday.

- May 7-10, the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed nightly at SR 99. All westbound traffic will exit at Harbor Island and be detoured via the lower Spokane St roadway/low bridge to West Seattle. The southbound SR 99 ramp to West Seattle will remain open. [This starts at 9 pm each night.]

- Beginning May 9 at 7 PM, expect changes on the Alaskan Way waterfront overnight. Traffic will be moved off of Alaskan Way and will be relocated underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct between S King St and Madison St. On the night of May 9th, S Washington St, Yesler Way, Columbia St and Madison St will be closed. Officers will be on-hand Thursday morning to assist traffic with the new road network and traffic patterns.

- May 18-21, the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR 99) will be closed between Denny Way and S Spokane St in both directions Friday night through Monday morning. All on- and off-ramps will also be closed.

The May 9 mention is the one that goes with the ferry-terminal-reroute video we’ve been featuring here – the big change will kick in the morning of May 10th. Other areas of the city have various smaller closures too, and you can see the complete grid for what’s in the works by going here.

SPOKANE STREET VIADUCT WIDENING PROJECT:

*Approaching 90 percent completion, says SDOT project manager Stuart Goldsmith. The project is now expected to be done in “early September.” The new westbound 1st Avenue South ramp won’t fully open till then.

*May 22nd is the date expected for reopening the 4th Avenue eastbound exit, and then closing the 1st Avenue South eastbound ramp for another 6 to 8 weeks.

*Exit confusion where the bridge meets 99 (and truckers going rogue): They’re still working on signage – covering the ones that point them to the Spokane St. Viaduct for I-5.

NEW HIGHWAY 99 BRIDGE (ELEVATED STRUCTURE) WHERE THE VIADUCT USED TO BE:

*WSDOT’s Matt Preedy says the first set of girders for the northbound bridge was set last night – right now both directions are running on the semi-recently-completed bridge that will eventually carry southbound traffic. They have met the milestone of “100 percent up out of the ground,” said Preedy, and are on track to complete the bridge and shift traffic onto it by fall of this year – earlier than what they thought last year.

SOUTH ATLANTIC STREET OVERCROSSING FOR 99

*Bids will be opened later this month; this overpass bridge is to be complete by end of next year. How will bicycles get along? Preedy was asked. The path back to West Seattle will be “detoured a little further to the west” during construction.

EAST MARGINAL WAY SOUTH REBUILD

*On track for completion by June.

AIRPORT WAY SOUTH BRIDGE

*Still expected to reopen by the end of the year.

HOW WOULD SODO BASKETBALL/HOCKEY ARENA AFFECT TRAFFIC?

*One group member pointed out that the possibility completely tousles what’s been under discussion here for a very long time – 4 extra “events” a week – and wondered if it had been adequately discussed among transportation managers.

*The arena came up, by the way, in a new “what’s on your mind?” section of the meeting. Some members including West Seattle’s Pete Spalding had suggested the group’s meetings needed more time to listen to actual concerns regarding the south end traffic situation, and less on presentations that might or might not directly affect them.

ALASKAN WAY – NOW, FUTURE

*Wednesday or Thursday of next week, the detour announced last week – with the demonsration video repeated above – will take effect, and will be in effect until at least early 2014, “possibly longer, depending on the city’s seawall-replacement schedule,” Preedy says. Traffic will be under the Viaduct all the way to Madison. If continuing north, you veer over, and by Spring Street, you’re back in the current Alaskan Way lans. Through traffic will be southbound one lane; northbound, part two, part one. They will implement “bumper to bumper” ferry queueing on the dock, which means 100 more cars, with the help of an on-dock supervisor. There’s 100 extra potential spaces using some street/curb space.

*East/west, they will feed people directly off the dock with more options including going straight through and accessing 2nd Avenue Extension. The bike path will be on the east side of the viaduct path from Jackson to Yesler, but north of that, the bike path will cross the detoured Yesler then cross again at Madison. West Seattle group member Vlad Oustimovitch worried that would be creating a lot of “bicycle/vehicle conflicts” in the short run. He called the detour-and-detour again plan “convoluted.” WSDOT says they’re most concerned about safety. The sidewalk on the west side of Alaskan Way will remain open, but it’s not wide enough to be the primary route.

ALASKAN WAY WIDENED FOR STREET PARKING

*About 66 on-street metered parking spots are being created between Spring and Pike along Alaskan Way. That’s about a third of the 200 lost under The Viaduct.

WSDOT has just gone public with that new video showing a reroute of Alaskan Way that kicks in during the second week of May, preparing for Highway 99 tunnel work, and it’s likely to be of particular interest to people who use the downtown ferry terminal as well as pedestrian/bicycle path users. Here’s the detailed explanation.

(Newest traffic-cam image of traffic-less Viaduct)
If all is going according to WSDOT‘s schedule, the (remaining) Alaskan Way Viaduct, and Highway 99 from there to the West Seattle Bridge, is closing about now, and is scheduled to stay closed until Monday morning. This is the twice-yearly inspection closure, and some maintenance work is being done too. (Then it’ll close again the weekend after next, Friday night 4/6 through Monday morning 4/9.)

1:28 PM UPDATE: Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) shares this photo showing bridge traffic a little while ago:

Meantime, a commenter asks about the reason for the early April closure – as explained by WSDOT here, it’s for reinforcement work in advance of tunnel-boring.

Drive 99? Note that the weekend closure mentioned on the sign is NOT the only Highway 99 closure ahead:

TONIGHT: Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct is CLOSED SOUTHBOUND OVERNIGHT.

EARLY SATURDAY TILL EARLY MONDAY: 99/Viaduct is closed both ways, 6 am Saturday till 5 am Monday (if it reopens earlier, we’ll publish an update).

THEN, TWO WEEKS LATER: The Viaduct/99 will close again from 11 pm Friday, April 6th, till 5 am Monday, April 9th.

ADDED 8:41 PM: Sorry to have not had this all in one place sooner but there are a variety of things to note for tonight, and tomorrow, besides tonight’s overnight 99/Viaduct closure. First, from the weekly lookahead:

*Tonight, per SDOT: “The 1st Ave S off-ramp from the West Seattle Bridge will be closed overnight. The 4th Ave off-ramp will remain open from the Spokane Street Viaduct for access to the SODO and downtown area.”

*Also tonight, per SDOT: “The northbound on-ramp from S Royal Brougham Way to the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR99) will be closed overnight.”

*And more for tonight: “A single eastbound lane on the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed overnight. Access to I-5 will be maintained.”

*Yet more for tonight: “Eastbound S Spokane St will be closed between East Marginal Way S and 1st Ave S each night.”

*And for Friday morning, this too from SDOT, announced late today: “Tomorrow morning, March 23, motorists traveling in the vicinity of the Seattle Center may encounter heavier traffic than usual. Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. a crowd of 3,500 or more will be attending a private event at the Key Arena. Traffic could build in the area as early as 7 a.m. and likely will impact the morning commute between the Center grounds and I-5. Charter buses will be unloading and loading attendees during the event on streets near the Key Arena.” (Multiple WSB’ers tell us the “private event” is the Amazon all-hands meeting.)

(Added 6:30 pm – photo courtesy Dan Murphy)
5:25 PM: Hearing this from multiple sources – a stalled or broken-down bus (one person says it’s a 56) is blocking a lane on southbound Highway 99 around S. Atlantic, so it’s much slower going out of downtown than usual. If you haven’t left yet, you might consider an alternate route TFN.

6:20 PM UPDATE: As commenters point out, this hasn’t cleared yet. Metro has just tweeted that 99-traveling buses are delayed. Two commenters have mentioned reroutes. Thanks again to everyone who texted/tweeted/called/e-mailed about this.

6:39 PM UPDATE: According to a tweet from Metro, all lanes of southbound 99 are now open.

(Spokane Street Viaduct construction photo, from presentation at Wednesday meeting)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Get ready for another traffic crunch on the Spokane Street Viaduct section of the West Seattle Bridge. That was one of the toplines from Wednesday’s meeting of the South Portal Working Group, an advisory group convened mostly on behalf of the ongoing Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel work, but typically briefed on other major road projects affecting our side of the city, so we usually cover this group’s quarterly meetings as a place to get MEGA-EARLY heads-up.

First – if you want to cut to the chase, here’s the entire 42-page presentation given to the group, covering the north and central area progress on 99 as well as components of more interest here. Tons of information.

Now, back to that aforementioned crunch: According to SDOT, sometime next month, all Spokane Street Viaduct traffic will have to be shifted onto the new north-side structure, so that work can be done on the old south-side structure for at least six weeks. When that happens, there will be three traffic lanes – one eastbound, and two westbound.

More on that – and other toplines from the meeting, including some discussion of last week’s eastbound bridge-closure backups, ahead:

That temporary constriction is part of the ongoing Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project. Asked again when it will be done, SDOT said that the deadline for the contractor is end of July, and that they’re pushing right up against it – in other words, not likely to finish early. Regarding the long-awaited 1st Avenue South on/offramp in the westbound direction – which we most recently were told wouldn’t be fully complete till summer – the current expectation is that it will be available as an offramp, perhaps this spring, before it’s usable as an onramp too.

As for the work on 99 – several aspects of potential interest include:

-WSDOT says working on what will be the northbound elevated section in SODO, parallel to the one carrying all the traffic now (which will eventually be the southbound section), will be “very challenging.” Some overnight closures are likely “later this spring.”

-The South Atlantic overcrossing work will start this summer.

-The bike/pedestrian path along the Alaskan Way South detour will go through some changes in the months ahead as work proceeds. Here are “before” and “after” maps from the Wednesday presentation:

Don’t expect anything to “get back to normal” for a VERY long time; WSDOT’s Matt Preedy explained that for the purposes of the 99 project, the detour “will be in place till late 2013/early 2014″ – and by then, the seawall project should be ramped up enough to keep the detour in place.

-Alaskan Way will be widened this spring between Yesler and Spring, taking out the old waterfront-streetcar tracks and paving over that part of the right-of-way.

-Viaduct strengthening work will start next month and continue through August. From the presentation:

March through August, project managers say, “crews will reinforce sections of the viaduct to withstand limited settlement due to tunneling.” They’ll put several hundred “micropiles” – steel pipes – into the ground to do that.

Also discussed:

LAST WEEKEND’S BRIDGE CLOSURE: SDOT offered some “observations” – first, they “competed with ourselves” regarding messaging for the Mercer Street work happening that same weekend. Mercer got citywide media coverage, the West Seattle Bridge did not. They also acknowledged that with the Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit Project continuing, “We think we may have confused some people regarding what was closed at night and what was closed all weekend.” One of two West Seattle reps at the meeting, Pete Spalding, told the officials that the signage was “one of the biggest” problems – “There was nothing indicating that the roadway was closed ahead … it gave the time to get to Highway 99, and that was it.” SDOT’s reply: “We agree with that.” (This wasn’t the full official report we’re still expect from SDOT – it just happened to be one of the topics at Wednesday’s meeting.)

MORE ONLINE COORDINATION: This was also a recurring theme in the WSDOT presentation – that they would promise to coordinate project information and online updates between agencies and departments even more than it already is.

HIGHWAY 99 TIMBER BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT: It’s still on the horizon, but no new details were shared. This is the timber-based elevated section of 99 just south of the West Seattle Bridge, and it is slated for replacement. (Last meeting of this group in October also featured a similar message.)

FUTURE MEETINGS: Viaduct project boss Linnea Laird announced this group will meet May 2nd, August 1st, and November 7th, all at 4 pm at the Sound Transit board room downtown.

Drivers who use Alaskan Way South along Seattle’s waterfront can expect major changes beginning this week as crews make way for the SR 99 tunnel construction zone.

Washington State Department of Transportation crews will reroute Alaskan Way South between South Main and South King streets beginning at 5 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 5. Drivers will travel on a new temporary roadway located underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct, while crews use the old roadway to relocate utilities and prepare for tunnel work.

The announcement continues:

Drivers using Alaskan Way South between South Main and South Atlantic streets, part of which was closed last year due to construction, will continue to be detoured through at least 2013. To keep traffic moving, WSDOT is building a two-way detour underneath the viaduct. The first section of the detour, between South Main and South King streets, opens Thursday.

“We are committed to maintaining access to businesses in Pioneer Square and along Alaskan Way during construction,” said Matt Preedy, WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program deputy administrator. “We are also working with businesses to provide reliable parking options in the areas affected by construction.”

Preparing for Thursday’s detour

Crews will close the roadway underneath the viaduct between South Jackson and South Main streets from 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, to 5 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, to stripe the detour for two-way traffic. Striping work is weather dependent. Visit downtown Seattle and SODO construction closures for more information.

Seattleites advising the city and state about ways to reduce anticipated State Route 99 tunnel traffic impacts will meet for the first time this week.

The SR 99 Tunnel Project’s Advisory Committee on Tolling and Traffic Management meets from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Puget Sound Regional Council board room in Seattle (1011 Western Avenue).

The committee was created by the Washington State Department of Transportation and city of Seattle and will assist in exploring ways to reduce traffic diversion due to tolls and meeting the project’s funding goals. It will also investigate non-tolling strategies for reducing or mitigating traffic diversion.

“We need to ensure that the tunnel replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct operates in a way that serves both the needs of SR 99 users and the surrounding community,” said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “The expertise on this advisory committee will play a key role in achieving our traffic management and funding objectives.”

WSDOT, Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City Council each appointed five members of the 15-member committee. Members represent a wide variety of those potentially impacted by the project, including freight, residents of adjacent neighborhoods, transit riders, bicyclists and pedestrians.

“This committee and their insight will be critical as we further our tolling analysis for the SR 99 tunnel,” said Seattle Councilmember and Transportation Committee Chair Tom Rasmussen.

“We are giving this committee an important and difficult task – recommending ways to minimize impacts from traffic diversion on city streets while maintaining tolling revenue required to fund the project,” said Mayor McGinn.

The public is welcome to attend committee meetings to view the information presented and submit written comments. Committee materials will be available following each meeting at www.alaskanwayviaduct.org.

The advisory committee will submit its initial recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, State Transportation Commission, Seattle Mayor and Seattle City Council by December 2012. It will finalize its recommendations in December 2015, when the SR 99 tunnel is scheduled to open and tolling begins.