Date:
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Contact:
Joy Carpine, WSDOT Communications, (206) 464-1186 (Seattle)
Patrice Gillespie-Smith, City of Seattle, (206) 615-0486
SEATTLE – The Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement project today released construction plans and ideas for keeping Seattle open and moving during the project, as part of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The team released this early preview to encourage public input and discussion on ideas to keep people and goods moving during construction.
“Regardless of what we build, the project is located in the same dense urban area and the impacts will be similar, so we can start planning now for construction. We know a great deal more than we did two years ago about what construction will look like and how it will affect commuters,” said Project Director Ron Paananen.
It has been two years since the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the City of Seattle, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released the project’s original Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The version released today updates the design, including improvements north of the Battery Street Tunnel, and documents the impacts related to the project’s two alternatives for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct—a cut-and-cover tunnel or an elevated structure.
The Supplemental Draft EIS includes three possible construction plans: shorter, intermediate, and longer. These plans can apply to either alternative.
“With either alternative, two-thirds of the project is the same. The central waterfront portion is the only area that’s different. So, we can begin to get public feedback on the trade-offs during construction,” said Paananen. “We are asking if the public wants a shorter construction duration or do they prioritize keeping the viaduct corridor open as much as possible?”
Regardless of the approach, the team is preparing a thorough mitigation plan. “More than $100 million will be available for traffic mitigation to help alleviate congestion and help people get to and around downtown,” said Seattle Department of Transportation Director Grace Crunican. “We successfully used this approach when we invested $16 million on traffic improvements to help prepare for the Downtown Transit Tunnel closure.”
The documents released today outline many of the potential strategies that WSDOT and the City of Seattle are considering to keep commutes bearable and downtown livable during construction. The potential strategies range from a new off-ramp for buses and drivers from the Spokane Street Viaduct, to an extended bus-only lane on southbound Aurora Avenue. Analysis of these strategies is ongoing. A draft Construction Transportation Management Plan will be released later this year.
The Supplemental Draft EIS is available online at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct. Copies of the document on CD are available by request. Printed copies can be reviewed at Seattle Neighborhood Service Centers, as well as the following branches of the Seattle Public Library: Ballard, Capitol Hill, Central, Delridge, and North East.
The public has an opportunity to comment on the document until September 22, 2006. A series of four public hearings will be held between September 7 and September 14, 2006.
The supplemental DEIS compliments the DEIS that was released in 2004 and precedes the Final DEIS which is slated for completion in late 2007.
For more information visit WSDOT’s online site: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct or call the project hotline at 206-269-4421.
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