TUNNELING: Port of Seattle Commission approves funding for Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement

The Port of Seattle Commission has approved $267.7 million for the S.R. 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. The funding agreement between the state and the port fulfills the memorandum of agreement between the two agencies that was adopted in early 2010. Washington State Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson was on hand to voice her support for the port’s contribution to the $3.1 billion program.

“We’re grateful to have such a strong partnership with the port of Seattle,” said Peterson. “The port’s contribution is essential to our shared effort to build a new S.R. 99 corridor that keeps freight—and Washington’s economy—moving.”

More than 20 projects, including the S.R. 99 tunnel, will work together to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct while improving freight mobility. Tunneling beneath Seattle allows crews to replace the viaduct while minimizing closures of the highway during construction. Additionally, a new overpass under construction to the west of the stadiums will allow freight and other traffic to bypass a busy railroad track that crosses South Atlantic Street, near the entrance to Terminal 46.

“If Washington state is going to keep family wage jobs, we’ve got to keep freight and goods moving through our region,” said Port Commissioner Bill Bryant. “That’s why the port helped pay for underpasses and overpasses in the Kent-Auburn valley, and why the port of Seattle is fulfilling its commitment to help pay for a reconfigured S.R. 99 and tunnel.”