After the Nisqually earthquake in 2001 the Viaduct became a topic for discussion. It was old, unsafe and an eyesore. The fact that it cut the waterfront off from the rest of the city didn’t help matters either. This earthquake launched an almost 18-year battle over what do with the giant piece of infrastructure. The city thought at first a “complete overhall, phased in over decades” (Trujillo 2002) would be a viable option with a moderate price tag, but proponents were very cautious of the scale, siting the Boston’s Big Dig –which was way over budget and years behind schedule— as a big reason not to attempt this type of plan in Seattle. Seattle couldn’t afford to risk it, literally. The damage to the viaduct and the seawall supporting it did not allow for inactivity on this infrastructure project and retrofitting the viaduct was not feasible.

After the earthquake there was turmoil over how to deal with this issue, and more importantly how and where was Seattle going to get the money to pay for whatever plan would be chosen. Mayor Greg Nickels, Majority of City Council members and the DOT (Department of Transportation) proposed a tunnel to replace the viaduct and open the city back up to the waterfront. Although it’s not clear how they planned to deal with the surface portion once the viaduct was torn down. Individuals like Carey Moon founder of People’s Waterfront Coalition proposed a cheaper option to “tear down the viaduct and replace it with improvements to arterials and surface streets downtown.” (Moon 2004), forgoing the tunnel altogether. She and many others believed that the tunnel wasn’t necessary to improve the traffic issues in Seattle.

Unfortunately, this debate went on and on over a ten-year period. Moon’s idea never seemed to gain enough momentum to topple the tunnel idea from the leaders of Seattle’s minds. Her project was one of the cheapest options on the table, but also the one with the least political support.

What eventually ended up happening was that the city decided to go ahead with the tunnel. Just shy of the ten-year mark “Central Waterfront Partnership Committee [CWC] is formed by City ordinance to advise on public spaces and framework for design along the waterfront following Alaskan Way Viaduct (AWV) removal”. (Friends of Waterfront Seattle 2018) This isn’t quite Carey Moons tunnel less surface street plan, but it is a step toward the city working with the public for a viable plan for the waterfront. In 2011, The Friends of Waterfront Seattle –part of the CWC— started an eight yearlong campaign of outreach and planning to make the future of the waterfront a truly inclusive place worth visiting.

In 2013, the construction of a sustainably designed seawall begins its construction thanks to the CWC’s efforts and planning. Around the same time the city brought in a drill that is on record as one of the biggest ever manufactured and specifically made for this project. The drill started and everything was well and good until it suddenly stopped about “a thousand feet in — one-tenth of the way through its journey”(Roberts 2015) forcing everything to come to a halt. After a time, they realized the drill itself had broken and they had no way of knowing what was wrong, and there was no reverse on the drill to bring it back out to check. They later learned a large steel pipe may have been the cause, as this is written there is still contention on who is or what is exactly to blame for the stoppage. The drill affectionately named Bertha was eventually fixed and was started back up in 2015. The tunnel was eventually finished in 2017; the seawall was also completed around this time. Two years later in the tunnel; the built two-level highway opened to the public February 2019. The viaduct was closed January 2019 and as this is written is in the early process of being demolished sections at a time.

The viaduct cuts through the lower part of this block between Alaskan way and Elliott Ave directly behind the Marriot Hotel. The steep incline left over from the Denny Hill Regrade cuts off automobiles from moving between streets, but the Viaduct cuts the upper levels off from enjoying an open and quiet view of the waterfront. The Friends of Waterfront Seattle have plans in the works for a large walkable park and surface streets to replace the viaduct once it’s torn down. They have been partnering with local businesses and working with the city to make this a reality and as it stands the project should be completed around 2023. This block isn’t the focus of the reconstruction --its at the tail end, but the more important thing is that the reconstruction will provide a more open, walk-able and enjoyable experience along the waterfront. While focusing on being environmentally friendly.