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(23 posts)

Viaduct Closure--Are the Dates Certain?

Started 8 months ago by Halyn
Latest reply from JoB

Halyn
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Does anyone know if the dates for the Viaduct closure are carved in stone? It's beginning to look like the best bet for our family is to take vacation that week. However, we need to let our employers know now, and it will be difficult to impossible to change the vacation dates once we set them if the closure dates change. Anyone got an in with WADOT?

Posted 8 months ago #
bsmomma
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I don't think anything with the word "Viaduct" in it is certain! I am absolutely dreading that week!I think the City should provide us WS Drivers some stress management classes and a free coffee! If they're going to spend money on our "Attitudes", I think this is a fair request! :)

Posted 8 months ago #
Sue
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WSB posted this after a SDOT event announcing the official dates. http://westseattleblog.com/2011/08/dates-announced-for-october-viaduct-closure

Posted 8 months ago #
Bostonman
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Its going to be a disaster. I started leaving my house at 7am thinking I would beat the 7:45 mess. It took 40 minutes to get from the Alaska junction to the Western Ave exit. Thats at 7am. If I drive during that week I might need to leave at 6am.

Vacation sounds like a good idea.

Posted 8 months ago #
Franci
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I communte to South Lake Union and I try to be on my way by 6:30 am in order to avoid the traffic backups. All bets are off though for the week its closed - I think more like 5:30 will be the best time to get out in the morning. I'm hoping to either work from home or be out of town that week.

Posted 8 months ago #
KBear
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I'll gladly take a 9-day closure over the years of closure we'd be facing with a viaduct rebuild.

Posted 8 months ago #
saney
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they should offer free water taxi rides that week....
my job offers reduced orca passes, which would be nice except it takes longer on the bus than it does in the car (even with the traffic as it is now). if the orca pass worked on the water taxi, i would use it.

Posted 8 months ago #
Halyn
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Well, the info on the WADOT page sounds pretty certain..I guess I'll bite the bullet and ask for the time off. I would have preferred flextime to using the last of my vacation time, but the boss and I just couldn't figure out a sensible arrangement.

Saney, are you sure Orca doesn't work on the Water Taxi? I could have sworn that it did.

Posted 8 months ago #
WSB
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Yes, October 21st evening through October 31st early morning are set dates. Though we already had them, as "tentative" dates courtesy of the project manager's appearance at a local meeting back in June - they were confirmed and formally announced at the media event that yielded the story linked in a post above. WSDOT is going to a whole lot of trouble to reiterate reminders, with the dates, and it's way too late for them to make a change now.

Regarding the ORCA question, it's mentioned on the water taxi's fares page:
http://kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/WaterTaxi/WestSeattleRoute/Fares.aspx

Posted 8 months ago #
Smitty
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I'm hoping that this is similar to the time they shut down all those NB lanes of I-5 and everyone changed their routines for that time period. Vacations, work hours, tele-commute, mass transit, etc. resulted in almost no issues.

The only problem is that all the greenies get (false) ammo in their quest to eliminate even more automobile lanes!

Posted 8 months ago #
JanS
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you say "greenies" like it's a bad word...or are you one of those people who feels that there is no problem with pollution and global warming is a myth?

Posted 8 months ago #
Jiggers
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Is that sign that's up in the Junction still up? You know, the one that says "12 minutes to downtown." It's more like 30 minutes now. I can't remember the last time I made it into downtown in that time frame.

Posted 8 months ago #
shed22
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Jiggers, I have found that sign to be grossly inaccurate during the morning commute. I always triple the time it shows, which turns out be about right. Although this morning it was about quadruple the time.

Posted 8 months ago #
Smitty
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JanS, I am a firm believer in global warming and global cooling. Just not sure what role man plays. As this graph suggests it's been happening for quite some time, so to err on the side of caution just incase doesn't work for me.

http://peterholmes.com/greenland-ice-core-temperature-last-10000-yea#!/

It's kind of like the "illegal" immigration argument. Because someone is against illegal immigration doesn't mean they are against immigration.

Posted 8 months ago #
bsmomma
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It is becoming harder and harder to be a West Seattle full time working mom/wife! I already drop my daughter off at "Morning Care" 2-1/2 hours before school! That's EARLY for a 5 year old. And I still have to sacrafice my lunch break and work 10.5 hours once a week in order to get my full time hours in so I can leave 10 minutes before school gets out to pick up my kiddo because I was 25 minutes late to work because of traffic! Uuuuugh. Anyone hiring in WS? :)

Posted 8 months ago #
Bostonman
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That sign is never right. This morning at 7 it said 10 minutes to the stadiums..ya right, maybe if I was flying. It took about 30 minutes to get past the stadiums. Like someone said, triple that time and you are about right.

I already spoke to my boss and told him my work hours will be in the morning at home and I would come into the office around 10 and leave at 3. No way I am going to deal with that mess.

Posted 8 months ago #
hammerhead
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Yep I get cancel a whole days worth of work on the Tuesday I drive out to the north end for cleaning jobs.

Talk about a huge loss financially.

Posted 8 months ago #
anotherwsmom
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Hubby and I are probably switching up the work schedule that week. Our daughter is off school half the week anyway. Now I realize how lucky I am to work in WS. Hubby? That commute to the U District would probably take as long as the "snowstorm 2010" ride home.
bsmomma....Swedish Automotive is looking for an admin!

Posted 8 months ago #
redblack
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smitty: even if global warming isn't man-made, does that mean we should just keep on dumping crap into the atmosphere without regard? or do you think it might be even slightly plausible for us to act like high-functioning beings and try to reduce our impact, regardless of the cause?

and you have the nerve to accuse liberals of being self-entitled.

kbear: if you think that this tunnel debacle will "keep the viaduct open," you are sorely mistaken.

two lanes. 25 mph. 5 years. no mitigation. might as well be closed as a through-route.

and you "voted" for it.

bsmomma: this is the state's and big business's deal. not seattle's. ask the governor and martin selig for relief, not the mayor.

Posted 8 months ago #
Smitty
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"smitty: even if global warming isn't man-made, does that mean we should just keep on dumping crap into the atmosphere without regard? "

It seems to me things are getting incrementally better all the time. Mileage, emissions, recycling, etc. Compare 1970 to 2010 and it's not even close (in the U.S.).

I just feel that some groups try and take advantage and scare people into their way of thinking by using GW. If they used your argument above it would work a little better, imo.

Posted 8 months ago #
Bostonman
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I agree with Redblack on one thing. Whomever decided to make that 2 lanes at 25 MPH for 3 years is crazy. Its going to be worse than it is now. Personally I think you will see an exodus from West Seattle over the next 2 years because of this.

Posted 8 months ago #
blackwatch
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Sorry to Hijack this but I can't let that lie....
Smitty...read this..pagehttp://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
If you still believe man has nothing to do with global warming there's no helping you.

Posted 8 months ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Smitty..

and just what do you think is getting incrementally better?

Our air? Nope.
Our water? nope?
Those greenhouse gasses? Nope.
Mileage on our cars? only if you buy a hybrid :(

Posted 8 months ago #