Editing Alaskan Way Viaduct (section)

==Route description==
[[File:Alaskan Way Viaduct from Great Wheel pano 2016.jpg|thumb|left|Clear panoramic view of much of the Alaskan Way Viaduct from Seattle's [[Seattle Great Wheel|Great Wheel]], with the [[Seattle Aquarium]] on Pier 59 in the foreground, in 2016]]
[[File:The Alaskan Way Viaduct.jpg|thumb|The Alaskan Way Viaduct, looking southeast from [[Victor Steinbrueck Park]]]]
[[File:Alaskanviaduct.jpg|thumb|255px|The Alaskan Way Viaduct seen from [[Elliott Bay]]]]

The Alaskan Way Viaduct was a double-decker freeway that traveled through [[Downtown Seattle]] and [[SoDo, Seattle|SoDo]] along the western waterfront facing [[Elliott Bay]].<ref name="NYT-Drive">{{cite news |last=Yardley |first=William |date=May 20, 2012 |title=Drive, They Said: Washington, Highway 99 |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9A00E0DD103DF933A15756C0A9649D8B63.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="HL-1953">{{cite web |last=Ott |first=Jennifer |date=December 19, 2011 |title=First section of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct opens on April 4, 1953. |url=http://historylink.org/File/9982 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The two highway decks each carried two to four lanes measuring as narrow as {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m}} wide, with northbound traffic on the upper deck and southbound traffic using the lower deck with a vertical clearance of {{convert|14|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lindblom |first=Mike |date=November 28, 2001 |title=Proposed 11-foot lanes not new for commuters |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20011128/11footlanes28m0/proposed-11-foot-lanes-not-new-for-commuters |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lindblom |first=Mike |date=April 29, 2015 |title=Lesson learned? Faster cleanup as truck loses load on Hwy. 99 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/sb-alaskan-way-viaduct-closed-after-truck-loses-load/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The viaduct was {{convert|60|ft|m}} tall<!--also listed as 57 feet by other sources-->,<ref>{{cite news |last=Westneat |first=Danny |date=June 23, 2004 |title=Viaduct: vroom with a view |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> had {{convert|3|ft|m|adj=mid}} concrete railings,<ref>{{cite news |last=Heilman |first=Robert |date=April 12, 1953 |title=Engineers Find Viaduct Railings Safe, So Relax—But Be Careful |page=60 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> and was supported by 400 columns spaced approximately every {{convert|51|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lindblom |first=Mike |date=March 5, 2007 |title=Why a bigger viaduct? |url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2003601315_viaductbulk05m.html |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="NYT-Johnson">{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Kirk |date=December 21, 2018 |title=In Seattle, Remembering Ugly Highway As End Nears |page=A12 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/us/seattle-alaskan-way-viaduct.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref>

SR&nbsp;99 formerly transitioned from a surface freeway to the double-decker elevated viaduct near South Holgate Street in SoDo, approximately {{convert|3|mi|km}} north of the [[First Avenue South Bridge]] and beyond an interchange with the [[West Seattle Freeway]] near [[Harbor Island (Seattle)|Harbor Island]].<ref>{{cite news |last=DeMay |first=Daniel |date=October 6, 2018 |title=65 years of the Alaskan Way Viaduct |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/Photos-65-years-of-the-Alaskan-Way-Viaduct-13284852.php |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The freeway then ran between the [[Port of Seattle]]'s Terminal 46 and the [[Coast Guard Station Seattle|Seattle Coast Guard Station]] to the west and the [[BNSF Railway]] container yard to the east. It passed a set of [[ghost ramp]]s near [[T-Mobile Park|Safeco Field]] that were originally planned to accommodate a freeway connection to [[Interstate 90 in Washington|Interstate 90]] that was never built.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Tom |date=February 19, 1984 |title=Did voters kill solution to snarls? |page=D8 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Near [[CenturyLink Field]], SR 99 reached the terminus of the original (and post-2011) viaduct and the south portal of the future [[Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel|downtown bored tunnel]], using a set of diagonal ramps parallel to Railroad Way to reach the central section of the viaduct.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2014 |title=Replacing the viaduct's south end |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/Media/Default/Documents/SouthEnd_April2014.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="google">{{google maps |title=Alaskan Way Viaduct |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.5964456,-122.3344205/47.6139341,-122.3477672/@47.6051199,-122.3499911,2963m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0 |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref>

[[File:DETAIL VIEW OF NOTCH IN VIADUCT AROUND THE BUILDING. LOOKING NORTHWEST. - Alaskan Way Viaduct and Battery Street Tunnel, Seattle, King County, WA HAER WA-184-87.tif|thumb|right|A notch in the viaduct's railing at the [[Seattle Empire Laundry Building]] on Western Avenue]]

The viaduct expanded from four lanes to six lanes and turned northwest as it followed [[Alaskan Way]] and the city's waterfront on the west side of [[Pioneer Square, Seattle|Pioneer Square]]; the area underneath the viaduct was used for [[street parking]] between construction periods.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 10, 2018 |title=Go west, young road: Alaskan Way shifts west this weekend |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/library/advisories-and-updates/alaskan-way-shifts-west-this-weekend |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> It passed east of the state [[ferry terminal]] at [[Colman Dock]] and reached a set of ramps serving downtown traffic: the Columbia Street onramp to the southbound lanes and the Seneca Street offramp from the northbound lanes.<ref name="KIRO-Ramps">{{cite news |last=Banel |first=Feliks |date=December 14, 2018 |title=Sound familiar? Original Seattle viaduct had no ramps |url=http://mynorthwest.com/1061139/sound-familiar-original-seattle-viaduct-had-no-ramps/? |publisher=[[KIRO-FM|KIRO Radio]] |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The waterfront section of the viaduct was noted for its scenic views, which include Elliott Bay, the distant [[Olympic Mountains]], and the city's skyline.<ref name="NYT-Drive"/> Between the [[Seattle Aquarium]] and [[Pike Place Market]], the double-decker viaduct ended as SR&nbsp;99 split into a pair of side-by-side elevated lanes that traveled over the north portal of the [[Great Northern Tunnel|Great Northern railroad tunnel]] and under [[Victor Steinbrueck Park]].<ref name="google"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Kroman |first=David |date=September 27, 2018 |title=Local Native leaders want Pike Place totem poles removed |url=https://crosscut.com/2018/09/local-native-leaders-want-pike-place-totem-poles-removed |work=[[Crosscut.com]] |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> SR&nbsp;99 then came to an interchange with Elliott and Western avenues, which marked the north end of the viaduct and the south end of the four-lane [[Battery Street Tunnel]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lindblom |first=Mike |date=December 2, 2018 |title=Highway 99 tunnel FAQ: More questions and answers about the viaduct closing and tunnel opening |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/highway-99-tunnel-faq-more-questions-and-answers-about-the-viaduct-closing-and-tunnel-opening/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 7, 2017 |title=SR 99: Junction Western Avenue/Elliott Avenue |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR099/099X032.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The Western Avenue crossing included a notch in the southbound railing of the viaduct, which was cut out to pass around a column of the [[Seattle Empire Laundry Building]].<ref name="Ott3">{{cite web |last=Ott |first=Jennifer |date=December 3, 2011 |title=Alaskan Way Viaduct, Part 3: Building the Viaduct |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/9978 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref>

The Alaskan Way Viaduct was one of two north–south freeways traversing Downtown Seattle, the other being [[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]] to the east. Traffic volumes on the viaduct, measured by WSDOT in terms of [[average annual daily traffic]] in 2015, averaged approximately 91,000 vehicles south of Columbia Street and 71,000 vehicles between Columbia Street and Western Avenue.<ref name="WSDOT-AADT">{{cite web |date=April 15, 2016 |title=#99closure prep: Analyzing traffic patterns on the Alaskan Way Viaduct |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/Status/Blog/99closure-prep-analyzing-traffic-patterns-on-the-alaskan-way-viaduct |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=January 6, 2019}}</ref> The viaduct formerly carried an average daily volume of 110,000 vehicles until the start of demolition in 2011.<ref name="WSDOT-AADT"/> The viaduct and other sections of SR 99 were designated as part of the [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]] by the federal government and as Highway of Statewide Significance by the [[Washington State Legislature|state legislature]].<ref>{{cite web |year=2017 |title=State Highway National Highway System Routes in Washington |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/hpms/pdf/washington-2017-state-highway-nhs-list.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |access-date=January 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=July 26, 2009 |title=Transportation Commission List of Highways of Statewide Significance |url=https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2006/03/16/HSSlist2009mod2.pdf |publisher=[[Washington State Transportation Commission]] |access-date=January 6, 2019 |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724190950/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/50EC9EB9-DB3D-4823-B5D2-5348409FB8CE/0/HSSlist2009mod2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>