Associated Press
SEATTLE — A contractor has been chosen to demolish Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct.
The Seattle Times reports that Kiewit Infrastructure West submitted the winning bid at $93.7 million.
Washington State Department of Transportation program administrator Brian Nielsen says it will be challenging to tear down the major roadway that runs along Seattle’s waterfront but the agency is “looking forward to getting it done safely and as quickly as possible.”
Demolition crews must cut and break apart brittle concrete within 25 feet of tech offices, a homeless-service center, historic brick buildings and a new apartment tower.
Kiewit’s bid price is above WSDOT’s $83 million engineer’s estimate and within the agency’s planning range of $80 million to $100 million.
The viaduct will close permanently this fall, about three weeks before the new Highway 99 tunnel opens, bypassing downtown between Sodo and South Lake Union. During those weeks, surface ramps will be connected to the tunnel.
Major demolition would occur from January and last several months. Before that, the southbound onramp above Columbia Street will be removed, so the city of Seattle can complete a two-way hillside street for buses.
The structure was built in 1953 and weakened by a 2001 earthquake.
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