viaduct – Page 3 – Alliance for Pioneer Square

Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Update – May 2013

www.FirstThursdaySeattle.comMilepost 31 Speaker Series – Preparing for the SR 99 tunneling machine’s summer launch

After a 5,000 mile journey from Japan and 10 days of unloading, Bertha, the world’s largest-diameter tunneling machine, is officially on Seattle soil. Join us at this month’s speaker series for a project update including a behind-the-scenes look at the machine’s arrival. We’ll also talk about what’s next for Bertha as crews assemble her 41 pieces in the launch pit and prepare for the start of tunneling this summer.

6 to 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 2

Milepost 31

211 First Ave. S., Seattle

Admission is free.

After the talk, be sure to leave enough time to explore the rest of the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square. Free parking is available for First Thursday art walk patrons in Pioneer Square. Please visit www.FirstThursdaySeattle.com for more information about participating garages.

What’s next for Bertha, the SR 99 tunneling machine

Now that spring is here, get outside and take a self-guided walking tour along the paved path west of the work site and watch as crews prepare to reassemble Bertha. Many of Bertha’s pieces including the cutterhead and trailing gear are visible in the work zone. Spot them now before the massive red crane begins lowering Bertha’s pieces into the launch pit. Reassembling and testing the machine will take two to three months. Bertha is scheduled to start digging this summer.

Building one road above another: the South Atlantic Street overpass

Crews continue to build the new South Atlantic Street overpass over SR 99 to the west of Seattle’s stadiums. The wooden forms you see are called falsework, which is a temporary structure that creates a mold where crews will pour concrete to build the permanent structure. Scheduled to open in late 2013, this overpass will allow traffic to bypass frequent train blockages on South Atlantic Street.

For more information about the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, visit www.alaskanwayviaduct.org. You can also track Bertha’s progress on Twitter by following @BerthaDigsSR99.

Get ready, Seattle – Bertha’s here

The journey started in Japan with a single ship. It ended 5,000 miles later in the waters of Elliott Bay, with the much-anticipated arrival of Bertha, the massive machine that will dig the SR 99 tunnel beneath downtown Seattle.

The five-story-tall machine arrived in Seattle on April 2 aboard the Jumbo Fairpartner, the 475-foot-long vessel that carried it across the Pacific Ocean from the manufacturing plant in Osaka, Japan. Built by Japanese firm Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Bertha was taken apart into 41 separate pieces, the largest weighing about 900 tons, before being loaded on the Jumbo Fairpartner last month.

WSDOT will have a live webcam pointed at Bertha’s arrival point once the ship is berthed, along with a map of locations where the public can view the machine’s arrival and unloading. Both can be found on a Web page devoted to tracking Bertha’s journey. The most frequent updates will come via Bertha’s Twitter account. A 10-foot-long interactive model of the machine is on display at Milepost 31, the project’s information center in Pioneer Square, and photos of the machine and construction in Seattle are also available.

In the coming days, crews will offload Bertha’s pieces at Terminal 46 and transport them to storage areas throughout the work zone, which is just east of the terminal. Reassembly and testing of the machine will take two to three months. Tunneling is scheduled to start this summer.

For more information about the SR 99 Tunnel Project, visit www.alaskanwayviaduct.org.

Construction and Traffic Update – Thursday March 7, 2013

Highlights

Saturday, March 9th: Fairview Ave N. fully re-open to two-way traffic.
Saturday, March 9th: Stage 4 of the Mercer East project begins; new lane restrictions on Valley St, Broad St, and Westlake Ave.
Friday & Saturday night, March 8th & 9th: Lane closures for paving on Southbound I-5 between NE Ravenna Blvd and the Ship Canal Bridge 10PM to 10AM each night. NE Ravenna Blvd. on-ramp also closed.
March 4th to April 4th: Yesler Wy. closed between Broadway and Boren Ave 24/7.

This update is also available on the SDOT Website: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/constructionlookahead.htm

For a map of these events, visit: http://seattle.gov/travelers

Full Construction List

Video Survey Work along SR 99

Crews working on the SR 99 Tunnel Project will continue to conduct video survey work documenting the existing conditions of underground utilities along the tunnel route. This work is part of a comprehensive program that will help crews minimize ground movement and protect buildings located above and near the route during tunneling.

On Monday, March 11, through Thursday, March 14, crews will intermittently close travel lanes and some street parking within the boundaries of Stewart Street, Seneca Street, Western Avenue and Second Avenue from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night. Please see the attached flier for more information.

To learn more about the monitoring plan, please take a look at the monitoring program folio. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the program hotline at viaduct[at]wsdot.wa.gov or 1-888-AWV-LINE (298-5463).

Nighttime video surveying of utility lines along SR 99 tunnel route