A portion of Alaskan Way Viaduct is one step closer to becoming a park

An attempt to transform a portion of one Seattle’s most controversial roadways into a city park just gained a little headway.

The initiative to build a new mile-long bridge and incorporate a block of the Alaskan Way Viaduct into it received enough signatures to be introduced at a city council meeting, according to the campaign group of the same name. The city confirmed the campaign received the required 20,638 signatures.

“Initiative 123” calls for a stretch of Alaskan Way to become a mile-long, six-acre park built on a garden bridge. The elevated bridge and park would stretch as far as Century Link Field to Pike Place Market. The price tag is estimated between about $165 million to $261.7 million.

“There’s something in it for Seattle,” according to Initiative 123 campaign. “The plan delivers not only an improved fun boardwalk along the commercial areas on the piers, but an unforgettable world-class park.”

The park would attract more people to the area and not only “revitalize the waterfront, but reinvigorate the entire downtown area,” according to the campaign.

Though the existing viaduct south of the city’s new seawall would be too dangerous and expensive to retrofit, Pike Street to South Washington Street could be retrofitted, according to an engineering study paid for by the campaign. However, that would be at a great cost. That’s why the campaign is proposing a new bridge that includes one block of the existing viaduct near Pike Street, which would cost about $165 million.

If approved, the measure would establish a public development authority to build and operate the park and other amenities.

Possibly the biggest hurdles for the campaign is the safety of the viaduct itself and the efforts being made to completely remove the viaduct and replace it with a tunnel. Even now, there are politicians worried about keeping the viaduct open, especially after a report found new cracks and more settling in the area.