Weekend closures mark last chance to drive under Alaskan Way Viaduct
Oct 11, 2018, 12:54 PM | Updated: Dec 14, 2018, 3:12 pm
(Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio)
(Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio)
It’s a big weekend for the Seattle Waterfront. Alaskan Way is returning to its rightful place next to the water.
RELATED: Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct to close in January 2019
The Washington Department of Transportation will move Alaskan Way from under the viaduct to its original location along the waterfront Saturday night. Alaskan Way will be closed from 8 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday to handle the move.
Dave Sowers, the deputy administrator for the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, said the lanes are striped.
“Everything is ready to go,” Sowers said. “There will be crews out here handling the signals and making the transitions.”
On Sunday morning, there will be two lanes in each direction open on Alaskan Way.
The prime real estate under the viaduct will be put to good use once traffic is moved. About 250 parking space will be added under the viaduct on a temporary basis. They will go away when the viaduct demolition begins in January. The schedule still calls for the viaduct to close for good on January 11, prompting three weeks of major congestion until the new Highway 99 tunnel opens.
Other weekend closures
There is also a viaduct closure this weekend as crews complete paving work near Atlantic Street. All southbound lanes on SR-99 will close Friday night at 9 p.m., from the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel to Spokane Street.
“Several lanes” of northbound I-5 from Martin Luther King Jr. Way to Olive Way will also be closed beginning at 8 p.m. Friday. All lanes for both SR-99 and I-5 will reopen Monday, Oct. 15 at 5 a.m.
