Alaskan Way Viaduct reopens in time for Monday morning commute
May 8, 2016, 2:26 PM | Updated: 8:41 pm
(WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
After 10 days of around-the-clock tunneling, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced the Alaskan Way Viaduct has reopened in time for the Monday morning commute, bringing an early end to the much-anticipated closure.
WSDOT says structural engineers completed a thorough inspection of the viaduct on Sunday and found continued stability of the ground and the viaduct. At 7:25 p.m., WSDOT tweeted that all ramps of SR 99 are open. Officials had estimated that the viaduct would be closed for approximately two weeks while Bertha, the tunneling machine, bored underneath the viaduct.
On Friday, the machine successfully tunneled through complex soils 15 feet below the viaduct’s foundation — the closest the machine will come to any structure at any point in its drive beneath Seattle. On Sunday, Seattle Tunnel Partners completed installation of the rings beneath this critical location, clearing the way for the final inspection and the early opening of the highway. WSDOT’s 24-hour command center will remain open until the machine has successfully tunneled 385 feet, the distance at which it will be completely clear of the viaduct.
As of Sunday afternoon, Seattle Tunnel Partners has installed 47 rings and excavated 312 feet of the approximately 385 feet of tunnel to be completed beneath the viaduct.
The viaduct closure caused some heavy delays and snarled traffic for much of the past week. WSDOT thanked commuters for their patience, saying, “We are extremely grateful to those commuters that shifted their travel routes and timing during the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure. Every person that chose alternate transportation helped to reduce traffic regionally. Thank you for all your efforts.”
Here’s what you need to know about transportation service revisions in the next few days:
• Water Taxi resumes regular service Tuesday morning, May 10
The King County Water Taxi will continue additional parking options at West Seattle and additional sailings on the Vashon route through the end of the day on Monday, May 9.
Regular West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi service will start Tuesday morning, May 10.
• Metro Transit returns to regular routing Monday, May 9
King County Metro Transit service will resume regular routing via the Alaskan Way Viaduct with the start of service Monday morning. At that time, the bus stop on Columbia Street at Second Avenue will also reopen.
Current surface street reroutes through SODO and temporary stops remain in effect for the remainder of Sunday, May 8.
• Restrictions on city streets lifted for Monday morning commute
With the exception of parking restrictions along Harbor Avenue in West Seattle, temporary city street restrictions put in place for the closure will be lifted before Monday morning.
Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest
