Re Align 99: The Closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct
January 3, 2019
The longest major highway closure the Puget Sound Region has ever seen begins 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. State Route 99 will be closed from South Spokane Street to the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel.
WSDOT will need to close SR 99 through downtown Seattle for approximately three weeks to realign the highway into the tunnel. During this closure both the viaduct and the tunnel will be closed. This disruption is unavoidable due to the large amount of work involved in re-aligning SR 99 with the new tunnel. Additional ramp closures mean up to six weeks of traffic disruption.
King County Metro Travel Options
#REALIGN99 IS COMING JAN 11: START MAKING YOUR PLAN
We will need everyone's help during the closure to avoid gridlock. Commuters and employers, start thinking now about how you can change commute patterns:
- Shift your travel time to avoid the busiest times on the roadway
- Bike or walk to work or school
- Start or join a carpool, vanpool or vanshare
- Start a telecommute program for employees
- Use transit, particularly light rail and King County Water Taxi
- Stay off the road: work from home, postpone discretionary trips, take time off
- Be prepared for your new route when the closure ends and the new tunnel opens.
- Watch this short video on how to stay in the know during the closure.
Ideas and resources:
- Ideas for changing your commute or travel habits
- How WSDOT and partner agencies will help keep people moving during the closure
- The closure in one overview handout
- See how freight routes change during and after the closure. Learn more about freight operations in Seattle.
- How will the closure affect traffic? These graphs show travel times and traffic volumes on key routes during the SR 99 closure in 2016.