Seawall construction starts week of November 18

After years of careful planning and coordination, we’re ready to begin seawall construction! Starting the week of November 18, you’ll see construction begin in earnest on the waterfront. The first step is to build a new roadway beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct that will carry all north/south traffic during construction of the new seawall. To make way for this, angled parking spaces under the viaduct, as well as those spaces between Pike and Virginia streets will be removed and traffic will be shifted to the east. Read below for additional information. For questions about Seawall construction send us an email at seawall@waterfrontseattle.org or call our 24-hour hotline at 206.618.8584.

Seawall construction starts the week of November 18

Near term activities will include:

Mobilization of equipment and materials.
Placement of safety fencing at the perimeter of the work area.
Removal of angled parking adjacent to and under the Alaskan Way Viaduct between Madison and Pike streets initially, and later all the way to Virginia Street.
Posting “No Park” signs as early as November 14.
Removal of trees and signal poles on the west side of Alaskan Way (in the sidewalk area).
Construction of the temporary roadway beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Ongoing utility and telecommunications relocation work.

What you can expect:

Construction hours will be Monday through Saturday, both day and night. The noisiest work will stop each day by 10 pm and resume at 8 am.
No work is expected on major holidays.
One lane in each direction maintained on Alaskan Way.
Access to east side businesses maintained on the access road immediately east of the viaduct.
The multi-use path on the west side of the viaduct will be open, with interim closures and detours in the vicinity of Pike Street.
Increased noise, dust, and vibration.
Increased truck and oversized vehicle traffic moving equipment and materials.
Contractors can park work vehicles within the construction work zone, but are not allowed to park in on-street, short-term parking.
Flaggers will be present at different locations within the work zone to manage construction traffic and public access though the construction area.

Construction snapshot activities over the next week

Seawall

On Friday, November 8 underground utility work will take place on the east side of Alaskan Way between Pike and Union streets. Here’s what to expect:

Working hours will be 8 am to 3 pm.
On-street parking restrictions will be in place for the duration of the work.
Northbound traffic will be reduced to one lane.
Two-way traffic will be maintained at all times.
Work will include pavement removal, jackhammering and excavation.

Waterfront Seattle

Union Street utility investigations started yesterday near Western Avenue and Post Alley. Pedestrian and local access will be maintained throughout the work. Working hours are weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm.

Starting Monday, November 4, crews will be performing geotechnical investigations under the viaduct between Pine and Lenora streets. The work is necessary to gather information about the soil as the design for the future Elliott Way connection over the BNSF railroad progresses. Work will occur weekdays between 7 am and 6 pm and last approximately two weeks. See the attached flyer for more information.

For questions about Seawall construction, send us an email at seawall@waterfrontseattle.org or call our 24-hour hotline at 206.618.8584.