Travis Phelps, Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program issued a news alert this morning concerning crews closing the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct this weekend to continue reinforcing a two-block section of the structure located above the route of the future SR 99 tunnel.

Both directions of SR 99 between the north end of the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge will close from 11 p.m. Friday, May 18, to 5 a.m. Monday, May 21.

Drivers should plan for increased congestion in and near downtown Seattle during the closures, and consider leaving early, carpooling or taking transit. Up-to-the-minute traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic and via the Washington State Department of Transportation’s voice-activated driver information line, 511.

During the closure crews will wrap a protective reinforcing fiber on the concrete beams of the viaduct’s lower deck between South Washington and Columbia streets in Pioneer Square. This spring crews repaired and smoothed the concrete to provide a suitable surface for the protective fiber.

“It’s like wrapping an injured ankle,” said Matt Preedy, WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program deputy administrator. “Protecting this section of the viaduct is important because crews will drive the tunnel boring machine beneath it in late 2013.”
Currently being manufactured in Japan, the machine is designed specifically for the soil and groundwater conditions along the tunnel alignment. Although tunneling crews do not anticipate significant levels of ground settlement, they are monitoring structures above and near the tunnel route as a precaution.
In addition to the reinforcement work, tunnel crews are building underground walls beneath the viaduct’s foundations to further protect it during tunneling.

For more information on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement program, visit www.alaskanwayviaduct.org.

This morning I stopped by the Commute Seattle stand at 5th and Stewart to show support for their work to help people conveniently walk, bike, carpool or take transit to work.

Here’s a view of what kind of work goes into  the launching pit preparation for the bore machine being made in Japan. 

Watch here as the ground is being prepared.

The First Hill Streetcar groundbreaking ceremony marks another transportation milestone. Watch it here!

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O’Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Special Committee to discuss Seawall

SEATTLE – The Seattle City Council’s Special Committee on the Central Waterfront, Seawall and Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program will meet after Full Council on Monday, April 23. 

The Committee will discuss public safety and protection of the Central Waterfront, the downtown business district, transportation and public infrastructure, a possible bond measure to replace the Elliot Bay Seawall and the Seawall design, schedule, cost estimates and next steps.

WHEN:
Monday, April 23, 2012, following Full Council
(approximately 2:30 p.m.)

WHERE:
Council Chambers, Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Ave, Second floor, Seattle 98104

View the committee agenda here.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen has fond memories of the World’s Fair, specifically watching the Space Needle built, piece by piece.  Watch him tell his story and share his experiences.

Some historical perspective from the Space Needle:

All kinds of famous folks have enjoyed the Space Needle, including entertainers like Elvis Presley, Walt Disney, John Travolta, Mike Myers and Bono; royalty such as Prince Philip of Great Britain and the Shah and Empress of Iran; presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Jimmy Carter; and astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. In fact, martial arts legend Bruce Lee brought his future wife Linda Emery to the Space Needle for their first date on October 25, 1963. They were married the following August.

The Needle by the numbers:

• 605 feet tall
• Original cost: $4.5 million
• Remodel cost in 2000: $21 million
• Visited by 1.2 million people a year
• Repainted 4 times, using 8,000 gallons
• On hot days, the Needle expands about 1 inch

For more information on this weekend’s Next 50 opening celebration at the Seattle Center, visit http://www.thenextfifty.org/.

Seattle Municipal Archives has some excellent resources on the 1962 World’s Fair.  Click to view digital files, text files.  Image files can be viewed here and here.

Hello, I wanted to share this article with you concering the seawall. Here’s an article from Publicola:
The latest version of the downtown seawall proposal, which city transportation staffers will introduce at the city council meeting on Monday, projects that the project will cost about $325 million—$32 million less than the original projection of $365 million. (Yes, this is kind of a burn on me.) That higher projection was based on 10 percent project design; the lower projection, which would be funded in part by voter-approved bonds and in part (to the tune of $40 million) by the King County Flood Control District, is based on 35 percent design.

The proposal includes things like a multi-use bike and pedestrian path, a new “pocket beach” on the south end of the waterfront, habitat enhancements and artificial reefs for fish and other sea life, and soil stabilization with jet grouting (as opposed to shafts drilled into the ground).

Of the $325 million, $300 million is for construction of the new seawall itself (including everything from soil stabilization—the biggest chunk, necessary because the soil near the waterfront is mostly made of fill that can liquify during an earthquake, destabilizing everything that sits on it), habitat restoration, the new surface Alaskan Way, and contingency. The contingency is now $48 million, less than the $81 million in the original plan. That’s a reduction from a contingency of 30 percent to a contingency of 25 percent, a decrease SDOT attributes to the fact that seawall design is further along.

The city council will vote Monday on a resolution to move forward on preparing a seawall funding measure for the November ballot. In June, they’ll hold public hearings on the proposal, and they’ll vote on a final seawall bond measure in July.

Please join the City of Seattle and Sound Transit as we break ground on the First Hill Streetcar Line and celebrate this important milestone.

Monday, April 23, 2012 at 12:15 p.m.
Broadway and Boylston Avenue
(near Swedish hospital)
To RSVP, please email: streetcar@seattle.gov

The City of Seattle has partnered with Sound Transit to build the First Hill Streetcar Line. In late April utility and rail construction is scheduled to begin.

In Spring 2014 the First Hill Streetcar will be operational and connecting thousands of riders daily to the places they live, work and socialize.

For more information about the streetcar please visit www.seattlestreetcar.org.

KIRO TV.com
SEATTLE

Metro Transit is holding an open house Monday night to announce the largest service change ever proposed. The overhaul, which is the result of public input, means major changes for bus riders. Some of the changes include new rapid ride lines that will connect Ballard and West Seattle to downtown.

More than 50 routes will be affected, and some may be eliminated because of low ridership. The downtown Seattle ride-free zone will be cut as well. The aim of the changes is to increase efficiency by cutting bus overcrowding and boosting ridership.

Metro’s plan is part of a two-year initiative to meet increasing traffic demands and maximize limited transit dollars.

The open house begins at 6 p.m. at Union Station at 401 South Jackson St.

The public will be able to see the plans, talk to Metro staff and make final comments.

City of Burien Newsletter-The City Report

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