After the required environmental review, preparations for the demolition of the southern section of the viaduct began in February 2009. Work on the Moving Forward projects began in September 2008. These projects included moving electric lines off the viaduct between S Massachusetts Street and Railroad Way S, reinforcing the viaduct between Yesler Way and Columbia Street to stabilize the structure while construction progressed, safety upgrades to the Battery Street Tunnel just north of the viaduct, improvements to transit lines that passed through the construction site, and replacement of the viaduct between S King Street and S Holgate Street with a new elevated roadway. The three officials put together a set of "Moving Forward" projects that needed to be done regardless of what replaced the viaduct. 1955) met to determine what could be done to prepare for whichever option would eventually be chosen. 1948), and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (b. 1947), King County Executive Ron Sims (b. While the state, county, and city departments of transportation developed new options for replacing the viaduct that addressed concerns raised by opponents of the defeated options, Governor Chris Gregoire (b. In a March 13, 2007, advisory vote, Seattle voters rejected both options. State officials preferred a replacement viaduct because it offered a less expensive and less risky solution. City leaders favored the tunnel because it removed the noisy imposing viaduct from the waterfront district, reconnecting the neighborhood with downtown and opening the area to redevelopment. The first round of studies and discussions took about 6 years and led to the development of two options, a cut-and-cover tunnel along the waterfront and a replacement viaduct.
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Though the quake was a strong one, the depth of its epicenter and its relatively short duration left the viaduct damaged but still standing.Īlready under study for replacement due to its age and dissatisfaction with its effect on Seattle's waterfront district, after the earthquake the viaduct became the focus of a concerted effort to determine how to replace it. After four years of planning and preparation, it takes just about a week to take down the southern mile of the structure.Īfter the dust settled from the February 28, 2001, Nisqually earthquake, many people heaved a sigh of relief that the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the elevated portion of State Route 99 through downtown Seattle, had not collapsed. Among these "Moving Forward" projects is the removal of the S King Street to S Holgate Street section of the viaduct. In the wake of the double defeat at the polls, state, county, and city officials came together to make a list of projects that could be done while the discussion about replacing the viaduct continued. This particular project's genesis dates to 2007, when the public rejected both of the replacement options then under consideration. After more than 10 years of study, debates, votes, and intergovernmental negotiations, work finally commences on replacing the viaduct, which was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. On October 21, 2011, construction crews begin demolition of the southern mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle.