Overview
The Battery Street Tunnel connects the north end of the Alaskan Way Viaduct to Aurora Avenue N. Until the viaduct is taken down, WSDOT and the City of Seattle are conducting regular maintenance on the tunnel and repairing its fire and life safety systems.
However, we will replace the viaduct's central waterfront section with a bored tunnel beneath downtown. When the bored tunnel opens in 2015, SR 99 will no longer run through the Battery Street Tunnel. WSDOT and the City of Seattle will work together to decide the future of the tunnel. No uses have been identified at this point.
Along with repairs to the Battery Street Tunnel, we also plan to close the short on- and off-ramps at Western Avenue just south of the tunnel. The ramps will be converted to emergency access/maintenance ramps. We are making this change for safety reasons. A large number of collisions have been associated with these ramps. Due to physical constraints, we can not replace the ramps to meet current safety standards.
The end result
This work will maintain the Battery Street Tunnel and ensure it remains safe for drivers while we construct the bored tunnel replacement for the central waterfront.
Updated May 2009