Before that round of handshaking followed the ceremonial groundbreaking an hour ago for the Alaskan Way Viaduct electrical-line relocation project, state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond (center of pic, white shirt) pointed to the BECU billboard in the upper left corner of the photo and said it hits home the point that Viaduct work “has arrived”; here’s video with her explanation of this project’s overall significance:
If you’re trying to envision exactly where those to-be-moved lines are – they’re visible on the underside of the Viaduct’s lower deck:
Seattle City Light’s chief of staff Sung Yang said the lines carry major supply far beyond the immediate local area:
They’ll be moved off the structure to help prepare for its teardown and replacement, starting next year (this work should be finished by late ’09). The only traffic effects you should notice during the yearlong, $17 million electric-line project are described this way in the official WSDOT news release: “During construction, drivers should expect occasional lane closures or traffic revisions on S. Atlantic Street, S. Royal Brougham Way, and S. Dearborn Street between First Avenue S. and Alaskan Way S. In addition, some parking near the sports stadiums will be removed in the area needed for construction.” Frank Coluccio Construction is the contractor. This isn’t the first major Viaduct project, by the way; the column-stabilization work (WSB coverage, with video, here) was finished earlier this year. Last note: Next Viaduct weekend-long inspection shutdown is currently set for October 18-19, as permaposted on our Traffic page.
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