Why Highway 99 in downtown Seattle will close for 3 weeks

After closing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, there’s much to do before they can open the new tunnel.

This video is for those of you who frequent downtown Seattle and use the Alaskan Way Viaduct along Seattle’s waterfront, aka Highway 99. It’s about to get interesting down there.

On Friday, Jan. 11, at 10 p.m., the Alaskan Way Viaduct will close for good. But it will be another three weeks before the new Highway 99 tunnel under downtown will open because approach and exit ramps need to be configured. By the looks of this Washington State Department of Transportation video, there’s a great deal of work to do. It’s kind of amazing, in fact, that it will only take three weeks. We hope it’s not too amazing.

During the transition, officials are pretty much predicting traffic armageddon in Seattle, at least for a while.

There’s a lot more information about the tunnel project and the eventual demolition of the viaduct here.

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