Washington State Reopens Seattle Viaduct 2 Days Early

Washington 99, the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, reopened to traffic Saturday after a week of demolition and reconstruction to make a segment of the roadway safer. The Washington State Department of Transportation completed this phase of reconstruction two days early. A nine-day full closure had been planned.The viaduct closure forced 110,000 drivers daily to find alternate routes. Opening up the viaduct’s new temporary detour route two days early allowed these commuters to get back to their regular routes and avoid long-term inconvenience, according to WSDOT.

While traffic was reopened and deemed safe for drivers, WSDOT officials are warning drivers to exercise caution on the roughly 3,000 feet of new roadway.

“Drivers should be ready to slow down through the new construction bypass and pay careful attention to all of the changes,” Matt Preedy, deputy administrator of the WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement program, said in a statement. “Drivers likely will be distracted as they look at Seattle’s changed landscape without the southern end of the viaduct, and it will take time to get used to the curving route near the stadiums.”

The entire Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement is $3.1 billion megaproject that will include replacing the elevated viaduct with a tunnel in downtown Seattle.