Milepost 31, a new project information center for the SR 99 Tunnel Project will open Thursday, Dec 1. Visitors will learn anything there is to know about the project as well as find historic artifacts, 3-D models and pieces of tunneling equipment. Pictured here is an animation of the boring machine needed to build the tunnel.
The world's largest-diameter tunnel boring machine won't start digging beneath Pioneer Square until 2013, but the public won’t have to wait until then to dig into the State Route 99 Tunnel Project or the historic neighborhood where the record-breaking machine will begin its journey.
Milepost 31, a new project information center in Seattle’s Pioneer Square Historic District, will Thursday, Dec. 1, with a celebration hosted by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The facility, which pairs tunneling technology with local history, hopes to draw visitors to the neighborhood during construction to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Milepost 31 was developed in partnership with neighborhood advocates and historic preservation officials as part of a federal requirement to mitigate project effects on historic properties.
Visitors to Milepost 31, named for the point where SR 99 enters Pioneer Square, will find historic artifacts, 3-D models and pieces of tunneling equipment. Interactive exhibits will show how Seattle’s landscape and shoreline have changed during the past 15,000 years, and how crews will build the massive tunnel that will replace the viaduct and reshape the SR 99 corridor.
The opening celebration will take place from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. at 211 First Ave. S. (between South Washington and South Main streets.
Visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/milepost31.htm for more information.
