Tunnel Replacing Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct “a done deal”

August 24, 2009 rockman Project Related 1
Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle - Photo by Seattle PI

Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle - Photo by Seattle PI Controversy was swirling around last week’s Seattle Mayoral primary race as incumbent Mayor Greg Nickels supports the tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct and challenger Michael McGinn wants to tear down the viaduct and disperse traffic on City streets or at least give the voters a chance to vote on the tunnel. McGinn won the primary and now faces Joe Mallahan, a wireless executive.  (Photo by SeattlePI)

The Viaduct is considered a serious risk during a major earthquake, eliciting fears of the viaduct collapses during the Northridge Earthquake in California. However about a week ago, Rep. Judy Clibborn, who chairs the state House Transportation committee seemed to clear up the controversy according to SeattlePI:

"The state is building that tunnel," she said in an interview. "It’s a done deal."

It seems as if the State and Seattle City councilmembers have no interest in changing course on the tunnel project after nearly 8 years getting it pushed through.

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[Editor] National Science Foundation (NSF) Press Release – June 30, 2008. Screenshot Credits: Jeramy Decker, Kiewit Corp [/Editor]

Running for more than 1,000 kilometers along picturesque coastline, California’s Highway 1 is easy prey for many of the natural hazards plaguing the region, including landslides.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is currently building a kilometer-long tunnel to bypass one of the most landslide-prone stretches of the highway, the Devil’s Slide, to help ensure drivers’ safe passage.

Using a new software package developed by researchers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., project engineers are getting a detailed 3-D view of the rock exposed in the excavation, adding a new tool for improving both safety and construction progress.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor] 

 

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In keeping with our theme of rising costs on tunnel projects, the Brightwater sewage-treatment plant and treated waste pipeline project in King County Washington (Seattle area) is now up to at least $1.84 billion according to the lead consultant on the project. The treated waste pipeline is 13 to 14-miles long and at depths of 40 to 440-ft! It is being constructed nearly entirely by TBM. One source of delay was due to a tunneling subcontractor  not being able to get parts (ball bearings?) because they were all being requisitioned by the US War Department for use in military equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Click through for information sources and links. 

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