Beginning Tonight: Alaskan Way Viaduct Closing for Nine Days

A nine-day closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct starting tonight and ending Oct. 31 will mark the beginning of the end for Seattle’s double-deck highway. 

At 7:30 p.m., crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will close the majority of the viaduct until 5 a.m. Oct. 31. 

During the closure, crews will demolish large sections of the southern mile of the viaduct and complete temporary connections to a new Highway 99 bridge now under construction on the west side of the viaduct in Sodo. 

Northbound viaduct closure

• Northbound SR 99 between the West Seattle Bridge and South Royal Brougham Way will be closed around-the-clock beginning at 7:30 p.m. tonight to 5 a.m. Oct. 31.
• Northbound SR 99 between the South Royal Brougham Way on-ramp and the Battery Street Tunnel will open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and for special events at CenturyLink Field.

Southbound viaduct closure

• Southbound SR 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge will be closed around-the-clock for the nine days.

About 110,000 vehicles use the viaduct each weekday. 

“While we are excited to get traffic onto the new bridge, we also face a very serious challenge—keeping traffic moving through downtown Seattle for nine days without the viaduct,” said Ron Paananen, Alaskan Way Viaduct program administrator. “If drivers can change the way they commute for nine days in October, they will help us keep traffic moving.” 

Drivers should consider alternatives to their normal commute, including:

• Carpooling, vanpooling riding the bus, water taxi, train or light rail
• Working from home or adjusting work schedules
• Checking traffic conditions before hitting the roads
• Using alternate routes where possible
• Delaying or combining trips

“Taking advantage of transit service is the best way people can get to work and back as quickly as possible,” Sound Transit Board Chair and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon said. “In particular, Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter rail and Link light rail service offer congestion-free commuting.” 

WSDOT, in partnership with King County Metro Transit and the city of Seattle, recognized the potential effects of traffic closures during viaduct replacement construction and invested $125 million in projects designed to keep traffic moving. These investments include:

• $50 million for Seattle’s Spokane Street Viaduct widening project, which added a route into downtown with its new eastbound off-ramp to Fourth Avenue South.
• Phase 2 of the SR 519 project—a new I-5/I-90 westbound off-ramp to South Atlantic Street/Edgar Martinez Drive South to improve access to the waterfront and Port of Seattle.
• $32 million to fund additional bus service with 41 new bus trips on key routes connecting downtown Seattle to West Seattle, White Center and Burien and strategies to encourage use of transit, carpools and vanpools.
• New electronic driver information signs on I-5, SR 99 and other major routes leading to downtown.

- Washington State Department of Transportation