Only a handful of days of demolition are left on the southern mile of the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct before the road reopens, and traffic continues to be heavy for morning and afternoon commuters as they seek alternate routes around the closure.

“We understand drivers can only make adjustments for so long before going back to their normal routines,” said Matt Preedy, WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement program deputy administrator. “If this trend continues during the next couple days, we could see regionwide gridlock on the highways and local city streets. Every driver can make a difference by shifting when and where they travel.”

Demolition progress

On Tuesday night, crews finished demolishing the entire top deck of the southern mile of the viaduct. Overnight, they hauled away a 100-foot-long mound of rebar and concrete. The concrete will be recycled and used to build temporary roads and the excavation pit for the bored tunneling machine for the SR 99 Tunnel Project. The rebar will be sent to two different recycling plants.

Today, crews will continue to demolish the lower deck of the viaduct between South Royal Brougham Way and South Atlantic Street. They will haul out more debris, paint roadway striping, install lighting and place concrete traffic barrier as a part of the new construction bypass.

- SR 99 – Demolition videos: http://www.wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/alaskan-way-viaduct-south-end…

- SR 99 Demolition pictures: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct/camera/

Construction bypass

When SR 99 reopens Monday, Oct. 31, both directions of traffic will be shifted onto the new SR 99 bridge – two lanes in each direction – and crews will begin construction on the new northbound roadway in the footprint of the demolished viaduct. A step-by-step simulation shows how traffic will use the construction bypass.