Seattle Press on Line - Viaduct: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

There From Here

Viaduct: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

By Tara Peattie

Jun 06, 2002 -- The Alaska Way Viaduct must go. This can either be done the expensive and slow way, through planning and replacement while we still have the existing Viaduct, or the quicker, cheaper way--we can wait for a major earthquake like last year's 6.8 Nisqually Quake to take a 1 in 20 shot at doing the demolition for us. The choice to simply fix the existing Viaduct is still there, but the more engineers poke around, the more problematic and expensive that option looks. The giant flaw in the plan to fix it is largely hidden from view. The seawall, which contains the Viaduct and landfill, was patched together prior to construction of the Viaduct in the '50s. The seawall is a mosaic of concrete slabs and untreated logs from the early 1900's that have been eaten away by marine borers--water bugs that eat wood. It's not up to code, and in a quake, that means the dependent Viaduct is not up to code either.

So the City and Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT) have "fast-tracked" planning for a retrofit or replacement, although no one has much idea yet how it will be paid for. Tolls are often mentioned, yet no one wants tolls that will create bottlenecks. Money in the statewide highway-building plan, which goes to a vote in November, will only cover some of the planning. What is clear is that the effort will be a collaboration of the city and WSDOT, since WSDOT considers Seattle responsible for the seawall, and so must bear that cost.

Despite the expense, many people think the "opportunity" to replace the Viaduct is a wonderful, lemons-to-lemonade situation. After all, the Viaduct itself is ugly. If the replacement were a tunnel, new (old) dimensions of the city open up. It creates the opportunity to reconnect South Lake Union with the Seattle Center and lower Queen Anne. If it were a tunnel, public park space with an unbeatable view could be created above it downtown, with a pathway for wheels and feet. Pioneer Square could connect with the waterfront.

Of course, many others think the current Viaduct is the best thing inspiring civic pride since Ichiro. The view while driving is the "poor person's luxury" view, and any new construction should have at least one direction similarly aerial. Since these folks can largely be characterized as "West Seattleites" I'm going to ignore them altogether here. After all, West Seattle wouldn't want an aerial viaduct at Alki.

Allied Arts, a coalition of artists and organizations with a goal of enhancing Seattle urban livability through art, urban design and historic preservation, has taken up the Viaduct redesign as its main focus this year. They've put together a list of ways to "Free the Waterfront," that reflect not just the needs of drivers passing through, but also that downtown waterfront is the heart and the "front porch" of the city, and a major regional destination. A few items:

Sum Free the Waterfront--build a cut and cover tunnel that also replaces the damaged seawall, to reconnect the city to Elliott Bay.
Sum Feet and Bikes First--Prioritize people, not cars on the uppermost deck.
Sum Connect East and West--provide ample east-west corridors for pedestrians, bikes, transit and cars from the waterfront to connecting neighborhoods.
Sum Meet the Sound--Design the seawall to permit the greatest sense of contact with the water and to provide healthy habitat for sea life and salmon migration.
WSDOT and the city are on a tight timeline to get the Viaduct project underway. By the end of July, they will have decided on a preferred plan for the new or rebuilt Viaduct, which will then go through environmental review. After July, it will be hard to go back from the preferred choice, so now is the time to let WSDOT and the city know what you want.

The four basic options for new Viaduct are shown at:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct/

To comment, (even West Seattleites) contact:

City Council transportation chair Richard Conlin at:
Richard.Conlin@ci.seattle.wa.us
(206)684-8805

Connie Niva, State Transportation Commissioner
P.O. Box 47308
Olympia, WA 98504-7308
Phone: (360) 705-7070
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/commission/TellUsYourConcerns_CFMail.htm

Allied Arts will hold a fundraising party to support freeing the waterfront, Friday, June 14th...
The Viaduct Wrecking Ball
1426 Alaska Way
(bottom of Pike Market Steps)

Featuring:
Reggie Watts and members of Maktub
Black Cat Orchestra
Amy Denio

And the Unter Der Viaduct cabaret hosted by Dina Martina
With: Live Girls, the Typing Explosion, Sgt. Rigsby & his Amazing Silhouettes, Herbert Bergel & the Viaduct Opera, Spaceboat TV, and... the Seattle premier of Marlon Brando in "On the Seattle Waterfront" with creative dubbing by Jet City Improv

and Mandrake the Magician (a.k.a Matt Smith) performing The Amazing Disappearing Viaduct Act...

Wrecking Ball, 9pm, $25

Ball, Buffet & Silent Auction, 7pm, $75

For tickets, call (206) 624-0432, or on the Web go to www.ticketweb.com. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Tara Peattie may be reached at peattie@drizzle.com.

Reader Comments

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Nick	Jan 27, 2003	Shoreline
We should keep the Alaskan Way viaduct!!!!


Mike Berger	Feb 26, 2004	Seattle - Woodland Park	entertainer
What makes you think it is only people from West Seattle that use the viaduct? I live off Aurora Avenue in Woodland Park Green Lake area and use the viaduct to go to Pioneer Square, and to go South on I-5 at Michigan Street. I hardly ever go to West Seattle.


Angela	May 14, 2004	Seattle	photographer
I'm glad you're doing this. The Viaduct is the ugliest thing I've ever seen, and I've lived in several major cities. I can't imagine what fool decided to build it in the first place and block the beautiful downtown waterfront view. I visualize a MAX train running North/South, street cars running East/West, parks, walking paths, biking, tourists, restaurants, and shops. Access for cars, of course, but not the capacity it serves now. Most cars and trucks can go around on the Interstate. The MAX train in Portland runs on ground level, not below ground. It's a slow enough moving train to be safe for pedestrians, and it's cute. A MAX would cost a lot less than digging an underground tunnel, and therefore, is more of a possibility.