Get ready: Four-day closure of SR 99 begins Friday at 10 p.m. |Traffic Payout

Get ready: Four-day closure of SR 99 begins Friday at 10 p.m.

Posted by Unknown in Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle, SR 99, SR 99 closures, State Route 99 on Wednesday, August 20, 2014

By Chad Schuster

In October 2011, we closed State Route 99 through Seattle for more than a week so we could demolish and replace the southern mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Traffic was a challenge during the closure, but with help from flexible and patient commuters, we made it through and ended up with a better highway to show for it.

On Friday night, we’ll begin another extended closure of SR 99, this time a four-day closure that will enable crews to demolish and replace (pdf 2.5 mb) a section of the highway at the north end of downtown. As it did three years ago, we expect that closing SR 99 will cause congestion and perhaps frustration among travelers trying to get to and through Seattle. But with your help, we’ll manage, and we’ll complete important work related to our efforts to replace the remaining section of the viaduct.

Please plan ahead for SR 99 closures from Friday night, Aug. 22 to Wednesday morning, Aug. 27. Here are the details:

From 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22 to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25, SR 99 will be closed in both directions from the West Seattle Bridge to Valley Street.
- Northbound SR 99 will be open from South Royal Brougham Way and southbound SR 99 will be open from Columbia Street until midnight on Friday, Aug. 22 for exiting Seahawks traffic.
From 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25 to 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, SR 99 will be closed in both directions from the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel to Valley Street.

View larger map (pdf 2 mb)

Lots of work to do

It’s never easy to close a major highway, but it might make it easier to accept if you know how much work we’ll be able to accomplish due to the sacrifices being made by you and your fellow travelers. The main need for the closure is to allow crews building the future north portal of the SR 99 tunnel to demolish and replace the section of SR 99 that crosses above Broad Street. To minimize the need for additional closures, separate crews will complete the following work elsewhere along the SR 99 corridor during this time:

Utility work at Harrison Street
Concrete panel replacement in SODO
Expansion joint repairs on the viaduct near the Seneca Street off-ramp
Ivy removal from the viaduct

Driver tips

The closure will likely cause backups on city streets and I-5. Travelers should consider the following:

Allow plenty of extra travel time.
Leave early or delay your trip to avoid traveling during peak commute periods in the morning and afternoon.
Delay or reschedule discretionary trips.
Consider telecommuting.
Take King County Metro and plan for reroutes on buses that use SR 99, share a ride in a car or vanpool, or walk or ride a bicycle.
If you must drive, know before you go and use WSDOT's travel tools or visit SDOT’s travelers information page.

Thanks in advance for your patience, and for doing your part to minimize congestion as we build a better SR 99 corridor.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 8:50 AM and is filed under Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle, SR 99, SR 99 closures, State Route 99. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.

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