SR 99 construction bypass: Keeping traffic moving through SODO

[dhide14]

how is a tunnel safer than the current viaduct? Won't a tunnel collapse in an Earthquake and trap more people?

[seattlelyn]

how do you get off of 99S to get to I-90

[RagTagTheater]

I have only one complaint about this video: the sky is blue and the pavement is dry. Come on, that had to give you a little smile in the midst of some of these snarky comments. :-)

[json8tr]

Nice graphics! reminds me of the 1st Grand turismo game on Playstation, going around the Kingdome!

[biukucanoe]

Can they make the Seattle models open to the public for free or for a reasonable fee? Now render an 8 corner views so you can simulate the wonderful drive by seattle waterfron that will be gone forever when they tear down this old loved relic.

[seamones]

you suck. how much did this idiotic video cost?

[jaygno]

there seems to be a disconnect between reality of traffic and city planning in this city. I am new to town and am astounded at the outdated, moronic city planning. i thought Seattle was this progressive, smart place...I guess i need to move to an expensive neighborhood where i work and give up my car. The idea must be that we all give up our cars and bike so we will be ready for our Chinese overlords when they come to collect...

[Asenueh]

@jaygno I'm a native and the way things were done when Seattle was developing was to do everything, on the cheap, piecemeal and as a stopgap measure, which then becomes institutionalized. The saying of the city's founders was , "We didn't come here to spend money." I suppse their plans were to come here, exploit the natural resources, take their money and leave, without any thought to building a livable legacy here. That came later when the area got a little bluer politically.

[eshypie]

This would be a great track for a racing game.

[PacketFramer]

What are the 4 columns West of the southbound lanes nearing the new overpass?

Also Please explain how the tideflat soil is geologically stable enough to build that overpass near the port for what railway and port? , but the rest of the waterfront is not stable enough to build an elevated freeway? Please answer this in detail.

[AgentD2009]

This is great. Thanks for posting this. I kept wondering how traffic was going to move on the Viaduct once it re-opened on Oct. 31st. Is the new tunnel going to be placed directly underneath the Viaduct?

[wittywoman]

Slower speed limit, no shoulder for breakdowns, and two lanes instead of three. Now this is progress,

[cobraram]

Seattle loves curves.

[thesectionalblog]

Slowing traffic to 25 MPH makes your billions of dollars worth of construction worthless. It's a total waste of money. There's no longer any point to using the Viaduct/99 as a viable road. The roadway will be 100% gridlock from sun up to midnight. It's an insane colossal waste of money. Who thought this would work?! Oh, it's only until 2015. Well, then that makes it OK. Only 4 years of a worthless Viaduct/99 corridor. This waste of money is sickening.

[thesectionalblog]

@thesectionalblog AND, the Spokane Street Viaduct isn't finished and ready to help defuse the extra traffic load. Great timing on that too.

[Nibsif]

BOOOO. Sad for viaduct to be leaving.

[89mustangLX]

Send this virtual Seattle to Rockstar games and tell them to use the city in the next Gran d Theft Auto.

[Salvysahagun]

Where can I find an image or video of the final project.

[byakuen1]

Once the Viaduct is torn down, is part of this new road going to be a part of the waterfront's Alaskan Way or direct connect to the tunnel? I'm really not looking forward to the slower traffic denoted on the speed limit signs during rush hours. Traffic is already unnecessarily slow at the moment at 35.......It's harder to properly merge or changing lanes without slowing down traffic even more.

[wsdot]

@byakuen1 – The bypass is temporary and allows us to keep traffic moving on SR 99 while we replace the viaduct. The reduced speed limit is necessary because of the curves, narrowed lanes and limited shoulders on the bypass. The bypass will stay in place until the SR 99 tunnel opens at the end of 2015.

[sirslushy]

Is that a custom program or preloaded Google Earth? If it is something unique, can I have a copy? I want a virtual Seattle.

[djallynsoundtrack]

Not as bad as I thought it would be.

[EyeOnTheTV]

MAN that is going to be such a mess. I HOPE they are making alternative routes easier to get on to and opening up more lanes somewhere else.... probably not though... typical

[KEKInc]

Did I see Arial on that recommended speed sign and a white background on an exit sign?

Anyways looking forward to the construction. I'll be graduated from college by the estimated time of completion, but I'll look forward to see the construction throughout the school year in October. :)

[RobertSeattle]

Are there plans to have a wrecker(s) on call during rush hours? Just one small breakdown will instantly cause a huge traffic jam since there is no breakdown lanes available.

[wsdot]

@RobertSeattle - Yes, our Incident Response Teams will be on the viaduct during rush hours.

[caa1000]

Is this where the new tunnel will start construction?

[wsdot]

@caa1000 - Yes, tunnel construction will start in the SODO area near the stadiums. To keep traffic moving, we need to bypass traffic around the tunnel contractor’s construction area.

[TheRealRemyMartin]

WSDOT I guess

[TheRealRemyMartin]

OK, now I know.  Thanks for the video WADOT.