Glimpses: “Viaduct demolition event”

Glimpses: “Viaduct demolition event”

Putting the issues with the Viaduct demolition and its tunnel replacement aside for a moment, we can focus on this moment of joy amidst the hysteria. Thanks to WSDOT for capturing this epic canine leap during last fall’s chance for the public to say goodbye to our city’s most maligned of its elevated concrete roadways. At least someone seemed happy to say goodbye. Continue reading Glimpses: “Viaduct demolition event”

New Stadium Notion Leaves Port, the Ms Feeling Congested Even Before Tunnel Toll

New Stadium Notion Leaves Port, the Ms Feeling Congested Even Before Tunnel Toll

But, faced with years of tunnel-construction and Viaduct-destruction, the Port and Mariners have decided a new stadium is a bridge too far. Why? Fears of traffic congestion. Here is a delightful section of the Port’s letter to all and sundry in which they discover that they never got their promised east-west connectors, that tolls divert traffic, and that they forgot to demand meaningful construction mitigation. Continue reading New Stadium Notion Leaves Port, the Ms Feeling Congested Even Before Tunnel Toll

Seattle’s Shunpikers Slice $200 Million From Tunnel Toll Estimates

Seattle’s Shunpikers Slice $200 Million From Tunnel Toll Estimates

WSDOT is not normally in the habit of announcing that they have $200 million in fun money they have no use for. There exist WSDOT projects with perhaps more impact than ferrying 57,000 vehicles (per day by 2030) past Seattle’s core. For comparison, Mercer Street, which carries 80,000 vehicles per day, is getting a makeover costing $164 million, $36 million less than WSDOT’s estimating error on their $3.1-billion tunnel project. Continue reading Seattle’s Shunpikers Slice $200 Million From Tunnel Toll Estimates

The Viaduct is a Hard Habit to Break

The Viaduct is a Hard Habit to Break

Last weekend, the Washington Department of Transportation opened a closed Viaduct to pedestrian traffic, so people could say their (first) goodbyes to the spit-and-baling-wire structure in person. It wasn’t the end of the entire Alaskan Way Viaduct–just the end of the southern end, which is being torn down this week, a project that is right on schedule. You can follow along yourself via WSDOT’s construction cameras. Continue reading The Viaduct is a Hard Habit to Break