State: ‘Whatever happens’ during viaduct closure, it will be handled
Apr 28, 2016, 5:48 AM | Updated: 4:07 pm
If something happens on the alternate routes while Seattle’s viaduct is closed for two weeks, the state says it will handle the problem as quickly as possible.
Laura Newborn, the spokesperson for the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, told KIRO Radio’s Jillian Raftery that if any of the roadways already packed with drivers being rerouted from the viaduct become blocked, the state has a plan in place. However, Newborn wouldn’t speculate on any particular scenario.
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“It’s really tough to play the ‘what if’ game,” she said. “Because it depends on where, when, how – how severe. So it’s tough to answer any kinds of questions like that.”
Newborn says people “should be assured that whatever happens – if something happens on another route – [the Washington State Department of Transportation] will fix the problem as soon as they can to get traffic moving again.”
Bertha, the machine responsible for digging Seattle’s tunnel that will replace the aging viaduct, is slated to begin moving again on Friday. The viaduct will be closed as a safety precaution.
The state has already taken steps to help mitigate the effects of the two-week viaduct closure that begins around midnight on Thursday. Along with police directing traffic in Seattle, incident response teams will be staffed from 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily.
The viaduct will close between South Spokane Street and the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel. The hope is for it to re-open after May 13, but officials note that the two-week time frame is an estimate.
“The closure is expected to last approximately two weeks. It might take a little bit longer, it might take a little bit less time,” said David Sowers, deputy administrator of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program.
Some people are worried about more than the potential for traffic accidents and tipped fish trucks, like the timing of the closure just after spring break.
Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington State Transportation Center at the University of Washington, says one of his top concerns is how much time people have had to prepare.
“The agencies haven’t had the lead time that they had for the I-5 closure and the I-90 expansion,” he told KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan. “All those things had lots of lead time – they were scheduled at times when people could take a vacation – so, yeah, I have a lot of concern that this could be pretty ugly.”
