Viadoom countdown: First closures begin Friday night

The Alaskan Way Viaduct may be closing for good on Jan. 11, but the first signs of Viadoom start Friday night, with the closure of a pair of ramps off of SR 99.

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Starting at 10 p.m Friday, the northbound on-ramp for SR 99 at South Royal Brougham Way near the stadiums, and the southbound off-ramp for SR 99 at South Atlantic Street will close.

The Washington State Department of Transportation warns drivers to plan alternate routes for anyone who typically uses these ramps.

⛔️ REMINDER! SR 99 NB on-ramp from Royal Brougham & SR 99 SB off-ramp to S. Atlantic St close this Friday night at 10 pm! If you use these ramps, plan your alt. routes. #realign99 pic.twitter.com/CjZkOdMCZW

— SR 99 (@BerthaDigsSR99) January 2, 2019

This officially begins the “Realign99” campaign, involving the tearing down of detour routes.

Sections of SR 99 to the north and south of the tunnel that drivers use today are actually temporary detour roads that will need to come down before the tunnel opens.

After those detours are removed, ramps that were buried need to be unburied.

“Years ago, Seattle Tunnel Partners built the on and off-ramps to the tunnel,” said WSDOT Deputy Administrator David Sowers, in a recent video breaking down the construction. “But those ramps were located in the footprint of where the detour now is — now that the detour is coming out, they will take all that material out, open those ramps up, and then make those connections into the tunnel.”

The next major closure will be the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Jan. 11, before the new two-mile SR 99 tunnel opens roughly three weeks later.

RELATED: Will we actually miss the viaduct when it’s gone?

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