2.09

Keeping Seattle’s Neighborhoods Moving Northwest SeattleBallard, Magnolia, Interbay, Queen Anne

Maintaining Important Freight Connections to Ballard/Interbay

Access to Northwest Seattle with the SR 99 Bored Tunnel

Replacing the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct will create new ways to travel through downtown Seattle and beyond.• Using the tunnel: With improved access from the north, the bored tunnel will

be an efficient bypass to the stadiums, southwest Seattle and Sea-Tac airport.

• Getting downtown and beyond: With a new connection over the railroad tracks, Elliott Avenue will flow directly to the new Alaskan Way boulevard, providing an efficient route through downtown and more options to get into the downtown street grid.

• Two-way Mercer Street: This two-way corridor from Elliott Avenue to I-5 will give Northwest Seattle access to and from the tunnel and I-5.

• New transit options: New RapidRide service for Ballard/Uptown and the Aurora Corridor will provide fast frequent service to downtown with easy connections to the new regional light rail system.

The agreement by the Governor, King County Executive and Seattle Mayor to replace the viaduct with the bored tunnel was made after significant technical analysis and input from the Stakeholder Advisory Committee, business and community groups and many residents who participated in the public process. Together, new driving routes and better transit will ensure that people and goods move quickly and efficiently.

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Full access to/from Mercer Corridor to SR-99

New street connecting waterfront toElliott/Western with grade separationover the railroad (SEE INSET)

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Ramp access to / fromSR99 at Royal Brougham

New 6-lane boulevardfrom Columbia to King

Hazardous/flammable materialsare not allowed in bored tunneland must use Alaskan Wayroute or I-5

Alaskan Way / Elliott Route

Bored Tunnel Route

I-5 / Mercer Route

Maintaining important freight connections to Ballard/Interbay

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The bored tunnel and related system improvements will maintain all freight connections to Ballard and Interbay areas. Both the tunnel and surface Alaskan Way boulevard routes will work well for freight.

The bored tunnel will have full access at the south tunnel portal near the stadiums and at the north portal near Mercer Street. Routes connecting to the tunnel will be designed to accommodate freight turning movements. Grades in the tunnel will be five percent or less. The Two-way Mercer Corridor will provide an efficient new freight connection to Interbay from I-5 and the bored tunnel.

The improved Alaskan Way boulevard will be designed for efficient traffic flow, including timed signals, a new overpass over the BNSF rail tracks and reduced conflicts between pedestrians and truck traffic. Grades on the new section of street between Alaskan Way and Elliott/Western will be about six percent. Hazardous freight will use either I-5 or the Alaskan Way route, and oversize trucks will continue to use the Alaskan Way route.

Travel Times for Freight While travel times along the Alaskan Way boulevard may be slightly longer than existing travel via the viaduct, the improvements remove a current peak period bottleneck at the entrance to the viaduct at Elliott by creating two continuous through lanes along the corridor. Overall travel times to Ballard/Interbay using the surface Alaskan Way boulevard route or the bored tunnel/Mercer Corridor route are expected to be within two or three minutes of existing travel times.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information: Materials can be provided in alternative formats: large print, Braille, cassette tape, or on computer disk for people with disabilities by contacting Heather Santic at 206-267-3789 / SanticH@wsdot.wa.gov. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may make a request for alternative formats through the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1.

Title VI: WSDOT ensures full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by prohibiting discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin or sex in the provision of benefits and services resulting from its federally assisted programs and activities. For questions regarding WSDOT’s Title VI Program, you may contact the Department’s Title VI Coordinator at 360-705-7098.

Americans with Disabilities Act & Title VI information

Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program / Central Waterfront

How NW Seattle Will Get To and Through Downtown Using the New Alaskan Way How Northwest Seattle Will Access the New Bored Tunnel

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Westlake and Dexter Routes

02/11/2009

Travelers from neighborhoods in Northwest Seattle will be able to use the bored tunnel to travel through downtown Seattle to get to multiple destinations, including the Duwamish industrial area, West Seattle, and the airport. Access to the tunnel will be from Aurora Avenue N. which will transition from a surface highway to the bored tunnel between Mercer Street and Denny Way, replacing the current route via the Battery Street Tunnel and the Alaskan Way Viaduct. At the Mercer corridor, access to Aurora Avenue N. and the bored tunnel will be provided in all directions.

Many who now use Elliott Avenue to get onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct in the Belltown area will find it convenient to use the new Alaskan Way boulevard along the waterfront to travel through downtown. The new street will be very different from Alaskan Way today. There will be a new connection linking Elliott/Western to Alaskan Way with a bridge over the railroad tracks. Signals will be timed to move traffic efficiently and manage pedestrian crossings. Alaskan Way will have two-lanes in each direction plus left-turn lanes. There will be three lanes in each direction south of Columbia Street. Near S. Royal Brougham Way a ramp will provide direct access to southbound SR 99.

Improved Access to Downtown

People who travel into downtown from Northwest Seattle will have new options in addition to existing routes. The new surface street connection from Elliott Avenue to Alaskan Way will provide a new option for access to the waterfront and to the center of downtown that is not provided today. Transit service to downtown will be greatly improved with new RapidRide transit service from Ballard/Uptown and on Aurora Avenue. More frequent service will make it convenient to transfer to Link Light Rail and other transit services to get to the airport and other destinations to the south.

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New 6-lane boulevardfrom Columbia to King

Ramp access to / fromSR 99 at Royal Brougham

New Downtownaccess via Alaskan Way

New Two-way Mercer St

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How Northwest Seattle will get to and throughdowntown using the new Alaskan Way

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Travel Times Using the New Alaskan WayOverall travel times for trips traveling through downtown on the new surface Alaskan Way boulevard route would increase by two or three minutes over today’s travel time using the viaduct. Travel would be more predictable and reliable than using either Alaskan Way or the viaduct today. Back-ups due to the at-grade railroad crossing to get to Alaskan Way would be eliminated. Today’s long peak period back-ups on Elliott Avenue to the viaduct on-ramp would disappear with the new street improvements.

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Travel Times with Bored Tunnel

• Travel times for those who use the Aurora/viaduct route today will improve with the bored tunnel by 1 to 2 minutes during peak periods.

• For those who now access the viaduct at the Elliott and Western Avenue ramps, rerouting onto east-west streets to get to Aurora and the new tunnel will increase their overall travel times by about 2 to 3 minutes, depending on route and time of day.

The new two-way Mercer Corridor provides options for access to Northwest Seattle with full access to and from the

SR 99 bored tunnel.

For additional project info:

Visit: www.alaskanwayviaduct.org E-mail: viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov Call: 1-888-AWV-LINE