Date:  Monday, October 20, 2008

Contact: Emily Fishkin 206-437-5061 Alaskan Way Viaduct Communications

SEATTLE – A vehicle hit a 30-foot section of guardrail on the Seneca Street off-ramp from the Alaskan Way Viaduct today at 10:45 a.m. Witnesses report the vehicle struck the guardrail and, as the driver attempted to extract the vehicle from the guardrail, the section of guardrail fell 55 feet to the ground.

“We don’t know how fast the vehicle was going when it hit the guardrail,” said Ron Paananen, director of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement. “No one was injured. No vehicles were hit.”

WSDOT bridge and maintenance crews responded immediately and closed the right lane. The top portion of the guardrail is gone. The lower section of the guardrail remains in place.

• Seattle Department of Transportation crews will close the northbound Seneca Street off-ramp to repair the damage. The closure will begin at 1 p.m. and is expect to last for approximately eight hours.

"We will repair this section of guardrail to keep drivers safe," said Paananen, "Drivers can expect some delays though the area as this closure will last through the afternoon commute."

Weekend closure

WSDOT bridge preservation engineers just completed the semi-annual inspection of the Viaduct. The Viaduct closed at 6 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 and reopened at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19.

During this inspection WSDOT crews:

• repaired expansion joints and damaged bridge rails.
• applied a protective covering to exposed rebar.
• serviced drainage systems and traffic cameras.
• washed the walls of the Battery Street Tunnel, and inspected the lighting, fire suppression and ventilation systems.
• surveyed hazardous materials in the Battery Street Tunnel.
• replaced a section of guardrail damaged in a collision two weeks ago.

Bridge crews did/did not inspect this section of guardrail.

WSDOT will release preliminary inspection results on Oct. 24, 2008.

We are moving forward to take down the viaduct in 2012. For more information, please go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/

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