Friday, July 20, 2012

FW: Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program


Subject: Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:04:22 -0500
To: guyperea@live.com
From: wsdot@service.govdelivery.com

Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program View Online Version


This program is led by the Washington State Department of Transportation in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, King County, City of Seattle and the Port of Seattle.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program News

July 19, 2012

In this issue:

  • Nighttime closures of southbound SR 99 for tunnel construction start this Sunday
  • South-end viaduct replacement will wrap up one year early, on budget
  • Tunnel boring machine model coming to Milepost 31
Nighttime closures of southbound SR 99 for tunnel construction start this Sunday
Drivers traveling through downtown Seattle should prepare for more nighttime closures of the southbound State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct. For the next several months, the closures will give crews the space they need to reinforce a two-block section of the viaduct that sits above the route of the future SR 99 tunnel.
The reinforcement work, which began in March, is approximately 50 percent complete and must be finished before the tunnel boring machine arrives in Seattle early next year.
Nighttime closures of southbound SR 99 will resume Sunday, July 22. All southbound lanes, from just north of the Battery Street Tunnel to the West Seattle Bridge, will close Sunday through Thursday nights. The weekly closures are expected to continue through this fall.

Nighttime closures next week

  • Sunday, July 22 – the morning of Monday, July 23 – The southbound SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
  • Monday, July 23 – morning of Friday, July 27 – The southbound SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
  • These closures are weather dependent and may be rescheduled
WSDOT is coordinating these closures with other Seattle-area construction projects and special events at the Seattle Center and SODO stadiums. Working at night, when traffic volumes are typically lower and alternate routes are less congested, helps keep traffic moving throughout Seattle.
During each closure, crews wrap a protective reinforcing fiber around the concrete beams of the viaduct's upper and lower decks between South Washington and Columbia streets in Pioneer Square. This work is labor intensive, extremely weather dependent and much of it takes place above the southbound lanes of the viaduct.
Currently being manufactured in Japan, the tunnel boring machine is expected to arrive in Seattle by early 2013 followed by the start of tunneling in summer 2013. The SR 99 tunnel is scheduled to open to drivers in late 2015.
South-end viaduct replacement will wrap up one year early, on budget
The southern half of Seattle's State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct is gone, a vanishing act performed by demolition crews last fall about six months ahead of schedule. Now comes the encore: completion this fall of the new SR 99 south of downtown.
The Washington State Department of Transportation announced this week that a $114.6 million contract to build the new SR 99 roadway near Seattle's stadiums – known as the South Holgate Street to South King Street project – will be completed one year ahead of schedule and on budget.
Crews are putting the finishing touches on the second of two side-by-side bridges, which will eventually connect to the SR 99 tunnel. When complete, expected this fall, the east bridge will carry northbound SR 99 traffic with southbound traffic remaining on the west bridge.
The new bridges will provide drivers with three lanes in each direction. A temporary construction bypass connects the new roadway to the remaining viaduct along the downtown waterfront. The bypass will stay in effect until the SR 99 tunnel opens in late 2015.
Tunnel boring machine model coming to Milepost 31
The world's largest diameter tunnel boring machine won't arrive in Seattle until next year, but you don't have to wait until then to see what it looks like. At 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, we'll unveil a 10-foot-long, motorized model of the machine at Milepost 31, our information center in Pioneer Square. The model will offer visitors an up-close look at the machine's inner workings. If you can't attend the unveiling, you can stop by Milepost 31, located at 211 First Ave S., anytime between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
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