Date:  Thursday, June 26, 2008

Contact:  Emily Fishkin, Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program, 206-267-6821 (Seattle), 206-437-5061 (cell)
Amy Grotefendt, Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program, 206-295-9846 (cell)

SEATTLE – The State of Washington, King County, and the City of Seattle released draft solution packages today that will be evaluated as ways to keep people and goods moving when the central section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is taken down in 2012. The packages consist of SR 99 options, coupled with improvements to transit, I-5, the downtown street grid, and transportation management strategies.

These preliminary packages will be used to test what strategies work best. In the fall, technical analysis and public input will be used to take apart the scenarios and re-form them into new packages that maximize performance of the transportation elements. The final scenarios will considered by the governor, county executive, and mayor at the end of the year.

All options reduce capacity on SR 99, and look to I-5, surface streets, and transit to carry more trips. They also include more investments in commute trip reduction and other programs to manage demand. “The public has asked if we could make do with less capacity on SR 99 than we have today,” said Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Deputy Secretary Dave Dye. “Testing these options will help us understand how well that works.”

The potential solutions cover a range of options, from a smaller road along the central waterfront and significant investments in transit and surface streets, to limited access lanes for vehicles with fewer transit and surface street investments. They will be evaluated against six guiding principles agreed to by Governor Gregoire, King County Executive Sims, Seattle Mayor Nickels and the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC).

“Our experts at WSDOT, King County Department of Transportation (KCDOT), and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will work diligently this summer to assess how well each solution package moves people and goods, improves the environment, and creates a new waterfront for people,” added Harold Taniguchi, KCDOT Director.

Grace Crunican, SDOT Director said, “We’re addressing the problem by considering improvements to the entire transportation system. These transportation packages will help us learn how options for SR 99, I-5, transit, city streets, and demand management work together to keep people and goods moving.”

The six-lane replacement options for SR 99 are not being studied further because information about them has already been developed through previous analysis. Three SR 99 options are no longer being considered by the agencies because they do not meet the guiding principles established by the governor, mayor, county executive and the SAC: a retrofit of the existing viaduct, an Elliott Bay crossing, and a six-lane Alaskan Way surface expressway.

For more information visit the program Web site.

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