WSDOT reviews 2016 viaduct closure to predict 2019 Viadoom
Dec 12, 2018, 2:58 PM | Updated: Dec 14, 2018, 3:10 pm
A construction sign warns drivers around Seattle's viaduct. (Tim Haeck)
(Tim Haeck)
With less than a month to go before the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes for good, the Washington State Department of Transportation is looking to the past for insight into how the closure will affect traffic.
RELATED: How Seattle plans to demolish the Alaskan Way Viaduct
“We know this is going to be rough,” WSDOT admitted in a recent blog post. Soon, Seattle will experience the longest highway closure the Puget Sound region has ever seen, affecting the nearly 90,000 vehicles that travel the viaduct every day.
To get a sense for what exactly that will look like, WSDOT took a look at what happened to traffic in the area when the viaduct briefly shut down in 2016, between April 29 and May 8.
That closure occurred as the tunneling machine lovingly dubbed “Bertha” moved underneath downtown Seattle, causing across-the-board increases in car volume and travel times.
WSDOT cited a 130 percent increase in riders for the King County Water Taxi to and from West Seattle, with significantly longer highway commutes across I-90 and I-5 in both directions, that started earlier and lasted longer. The same was true for Seattle city streets, as noted in the above graph supplied by WSDOT.
You can read the full report from the 2016 closure here (hint: It wasn’t pretty).
So, what can you do to avoid getting stuck once the 2019 closure hits? According to WSDOT, the answer is “don’t drive.”
“If you plan on traveling anywhere near Seattle during the three-week closure, consider changing how you get around,” WSDOT advised. According to them, that includes adjusting to a work-from-home schedule, taking public transit, walking, or investing in a bicycle.
The closure will start Jan. 11, 2019. It’s estimated to take approximately three weeks, shutting down Highway 99 in both directions between South Lake Union and the stadiums. Anyone who normally uses the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be forced onto other roads, like I-5 and downtown Seattle surface streets.
The new tunnel is expected to open to traffic about three weeks after the viaduct closes, which puts around Monday, Feb. 4.
RELATED: Seattle getting closer to Alaskan Way Viaduct closure
