Seattle Plans To Replace Viaduct with $4-Billion Tunnel
The city of Seattle and the Washington Dept. of Transportation are moving on plans to replace the 51-year-old Alaska Way Viaduct with a 5,300-ft-long tunnel estimated to cost up to $4 billion.
Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York City, is beginning environmental impact studies for the six-lane tunnel that would replace the double-deck concrete artery carrying 110,000 cars per day, plus the citys sea wall. Both were critically damaged in 2001 when a 6.8 earthquake hit the Puget Sound region, forcing WDOT to temporarily shut down the roadway (ENR 4/9/01 p. 16). "Were answering the wake-up call of the Nisqually earthquake," says Richard Conlin, chairman of the City Councils transportation committee.