The Alaskan Way Viaduct(What should be done, and how it will affect Seattle)

The Main Points of This Project• The history of the Alaskan Way Viaduct• The initial impacts that the viaduct had on

Seattle• The effects that the Nisqually earthquake had on

the viaducts structural integrity• Three major proposals that could have feasibly

replaced the viaduct• How the accepted tunnel proposal will influence

Seattle in the short and long term.

The History of The Alaskan Way Viaduct

• The viaduct was built in three phases and construction was completed on April 4th, 1953.

• The viaduct was constructed as a three lane, double decker highway that went directly through downtown Seattle.

• The total cost of building the viaduct originally cost the city 8.5 million dollars.

How the viaduct impacted Seattle

• The viaduct was initially celebrated by the cities public because of the massive amounts of traffic that it reduced.

• Eventually though the viaduct was criticized as being an eye sore, dangerous, and a short-term solution.

• At first, at least 65,000 cars traveled on the freeway daily. Now over 110,000 cars use the viaduct.

The Nisqually Earthquake

• The 6.5 scale earthquake decimated the viaduct in 2001.

• The structural integrity was compromised, and nearly every transverse beam in the freeway was cracked.

• The foundation that the viaduct was built on is also extremely poor, and it is very unlikely that it will ever survive another earthquake.

The Three Different Proposals for The Viaducts Replacement

• 1) Rebuild the seawall and retrofit the viaduct. This was the cheapest option, but wasn’t considered a long-term plan.

• 2)Take down the viaduct and build a ground level four lane highway. It will be environmentally better for the city, but will increase traffic congestion downtown.

• 3)The just recently accepted proposal by the Washington Senate, is to take down the existing viaduct and build a four lane underground tunnel. This plan is projected to cost over 4.2 billion dollars, but will open up the Seattle waterfront and can be maintained for decades to come.

How The Tunnel Will Influence The City• The tunnel freeway will take a tremendous time to be

built, and will cost tax payers and the state an heafty amount of money.

• Ultimately, it will make commuters find alternative routes throughout the city which could enhance the economies throughout different business sectors.

• All of the initial digging for the underground tunnel will unfortunately have dire impacts on the environment by creating underground chemical seepages.

• This tunnel will remove all of the early criticisms that came with the viaduct when it was first built.