Saying Goodbye to the Seattle Viaduct

This weekend Seattleites are saying a final goodbye to the Alaskan Way Viaduct – a fixture of the downtown skyline since it first opened to traffic in 1953 – with a full slate of activities including an 8k race, bike ride, and a parade and arts festival.  The viaduct will be demolished now that the SR 99 tunnel is complete. 

A Change Slow in Coming

Some things never change, like my dislike for raisins – the first person to ruin an oatmeal cookie with raisins is, in my estimation, the world’s greatest villain; some things change too quickly, like subtitles in foreign films – “the father of Margo’s baby was revealed to be…” WAIT, who was it!?!?; and some things change slowly, like the arch of the moral universe and State Route 99 through downtown Seattle.

The process to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with the SR 99 tunnel took over ten years, but its demolition will mark the beginning of a revitalized Seattle waterfront and left us all with a lingering lesson.  

Big Bertha, the World’s Largest Tunnel Boring Machine Says: “Never Give Up!”

Even if it costs you over $200 million dollars more than you expected and two years of life sitting around not doing what you were born to do (I shudder to think of two years of my life without cruising and eating chocolate!).

And as I participated in the 8k run, the route taking me through the new two mile long tunnel and out over a section of the old viaduct, I thought (as I gasped for air and left my mark of sweat on both the past and the future): if Bertha can do it, so can I!  

Then I paused, overcome with sentiment (and also to barf over the side) as I peaked up at our apartment complex between the upper and lower decks of the viaduct, the place we’ve lived since moving to Seattle.  The place where our son started Kindergarten and learned to read and where we sit out on the balcony and watch sunsets and the cruise ships come in with the viaduct always in the foreground.

So long, old friend.

What this Means for Travelers to Seattle

It’s time to update that GPS! “Frank, it says to go this way!” “I don’t care what it says Betty, we’re about to plunge to our deaths on the wrong side of a partly demolished on ramp!”  Traffic patterns look very different near the stadiums, Seattle Center, and along the waterfront with the closure of the viaduct and the opening of the new SR 99 tunnel.  Learn everything you need to know here.

There may also be traffic disruptions as the viaduct is demolished and there will be associated noise and dust.  Keep this in mind when you’re selecting a hotel and give yourself some extra time to get around affected areas.  Check here for viaduct removal information. 

But most of all, get excited for an even greater Seattle Waterfront.  Explore the future waterfront here. Visit us soon and tell your cab driver Prof. Cruise sent you!

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