SEATTLE — A major thoroughfare for commuters along downtown Seattle’s waterfront is set to shut down for good Friday, ushering in what officials say will be one of the most painful traffic periods in the history of the booming Pacific Northwest city. The aging, double-decker, 2.2-mile Alaskan Way Viaduct, which carries about 90,000 vehicles each day, will be replaced by a new four-lane tunnel. Officials say tearing down the viaduct, damaged in a 2001 earthquake, will allow Seattle to reimagine its waterfront with a park and other amenities. But the tunnel replacement won’t open until about three weeks after the viaduct closes as workers realign the highway into it. A melange of other construction projects will further constrain traffic in the hilly city surrounded by water, already known for its population growth and traffic woes. Washington’s transportation agency on its website has a clock counting down to the viaduct closure , which it says will be the longest major highway closure the Puget Sound region has ever seen. The weeks-long period between the viaduct’s closure, scheduled for 10 p.m. Friday, and the state Route 99 tunnel opening is already being dubbed the “Seattle Squeeze,” according to Heather Marx, director of Downtown Mobility for the Seattle Department of Transportation. “It is dramatic. Everyone traveling in the region will be impacted,” Marx said, referring to people going to and through the Seattle metropolitan area. City, King County and state officials have been working to mitigate the headaches sure to plague anyone caught unprepared. Seattle school bus drivers will start their days earlier, and officials are advising commuters to work from home or adjust their work hours if they can. Those who can’t are being asked to walk, bike, join a carpool or use transit including buses, light rail or water taxis — all to avoid driving solo into downtown during peak commute times. Lisa Baumann is an Associated Press writer.<doc-sep>Seattle is facing what officials have called the longest major highway closure in the history of the region. With the new state Route 99 tunnel finished, the state Department of Transportation will close the Alaskan Way Viaduct once and for all on Friday at 10 p.m. Crews will then spend roughly three weeks tending to the work needed to connect the existing SR-99 to the new tunnel. During the closure, traffic will be awful across the region — that's a theme you can't miss in Seattle this week — and after the tunnel opens, things will be very different for those who commute on or around SR-99. To help readers understand what all this will mean for getting around Seattle next week and then several weeks later, we gathered some of the key facts about the Seattle Squeeze and beyond. — Why is the viaduct closing so long before the tunnel opens? The Alaskan Way Viaduct accounts for about 2.2 miles of SR-99 as it runs along the waterfront of downtown Seattle. In order for traffic to access the new tunnel, workers will have to tear up sections of the existing highway and then rebuild sections linking it to the new tunnel at the north and south ends. "This is more than just moving some traffic cones around," said David Sowers, deputy program administrator for WSDOT's Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement program, at a news conference Wednesday morning. Crews will have to remove some embankments, build others, pave new sections of roadway and more. They will also have to build out roads that don't exist yet, including the intersection at South Dearborn Street where traffic will come off the highway from the northbound Sodo exit. The work is expected to take about three weeks, and Sowers said that while there is some padding in the schedule to allow for delays, he's confident the tunnel should be ready to open after the first weekend in February. RELATED: Views, Bertha and a years-long political battle: How we got to the viaduct demolition — What changes are happening around downtown streets during the closure? A number of changes are set to happen or have already happened. For starters, the ramps at the south end of the viaduct were shut down last Friday, and parking restrictions on some streets have already gone into effect. Seneca Street between First and Third avenues will be converted to a one-way street headed westbound since traffic will no longer be coming off the viaduct eastbound. SDOT says this will increase downtown mobility. Additionally, several streets downtown and in West Seattle (near the water taxi dock) will have new parking restrictions to allow for emergency vehicles to get through during the expected traffic congestion. For a full list of the parking restrictions, go to SDOT's blog post here. What's more, drivers should expect Seattle police traffic officers to be in place at key intersections and on key streets enforcing bus-only lanes, parking restrictions and keeping drivers from blocking intersections. Seattle Police Department Assistant Chief Steve Hirjak said officers' main goal will be to keep traffic moving, but he's "not taking tickets off the table." If vehicles are illegally parked, the city will be "towing with alacrity," said Heather Marx, director of downtown mobility for SDOT. What's more, public agencies have all strongly advised that commuters use any option other than driving alone to get to downtown Seattle during the closure. RELATED: Take a ride along the Alaskan Way Viaduct with this 360 video: — How is my bus impacted during the closure? Commuters who ride King County Metro or any other bus service to get to downtown Seattle will likely see some changes to their routes both during the closure and beyond. Buses coming from the south or heading south, including the 21x, 37, 55, 56, 57, 113, 120, 121, 123, 125 and C RapidRide line will all be rerouted to Fourth Avenue South until up to two weeks after the tunnel opens, when the new northbound off-ramps from SR-99 open. Buses on the northend will exit SR-99 at Denny Way and use either Wall or Battery street to get in and out of downtown. Additionally, ride share companies are offering discounted rides to and from transit centers during the closure. You can learn more from Metro here and find more information about ride shares and other options here. Ferry riders will also be impacted. Learn more at the following link. RELATED: WSF: Viaduct closure will impact ferry riders — What streets will be the most backed up once the viaduct closes? When should I drive? Officials have been clear on one thing throughout planning for the viaduct closure: They expect traffic to be impacted far beyond the downtown core. "Business is not as usual," Sowers said. Roughly 90,000 vehicles per day use the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and once it closes, those cars will have to go somewhere. Surface streets will be clogged, Interstate 5 will be clogged, SR-99 north and south of the city will likely be clogged, but the impacts will extend much farther. "This closure is going to be like nothing we've ever experienced before," Marx said at Wednesday's news conference. "We're all going to have to channel Fred Rogers, we're going to have to take our time, going to have to be kind and patient and think about other people and how they're experiencing this." Marx and Sowers both noted that during the 9-day closure of the viaduct in 2016, traffic saw slowdowns on the state Route 520 bridge crossing Lake Washington and beyond. Drivers may also look to avoid Seattle altogether, leading to even farther reaching impacts, such as heavier traffic on I-405, Sowers added. "There is no street that is going to be unimpacted by this closure," Marx said. Metro has suggested that those who do drive try to avoid the heaviest travel times — 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. — by leaving later or earlier, but that is still not a guarantee that things will be free and clear. RELATED: A timeline of the Alaskan Way Viaduct: — How will I get downtown once the new tunnel opens? When the new SR-99 tunnel opens in February, drivers will face significantly different routes getting to downtown. The tunnel has no exits or on-ramps between its north and south ends, so drivers will have to get off at one end or the other and then use surface streets to access downtown destinations. Accessing the stadiums will still be relatively easy, as drivers will have access at South Dearborn Street or Royal Brougham Way, depending on where they are coming from and where they are going. At the north end, on- and off-ramps will provide access around Mercer and Harrison streets. For a more in-depth explanation of the new access, read more here. RELATED: New tunnel, new rules: How to navigate downtown Seattle when new tunnel opens — The new tunnel has fewer lanes than the viaduct. Will it be clogged with traffic all the time? Is it going to be dark in there? The new SR-99 tunnel was designed to have the same overall traffic capacity as the Alaskan Way Viaduct, according to WSDOT. Drivers may be quick to point out that the viaduct has as many as four lanes in places while the tunnel only has two lanes in each direction, but because those are exit or entrance lanes, they don't count toward throughput capacity for the highway. At both the north and south ends, SR-99 only has two lanes in each direction, and since the tunnel has no exits over its length, there is no need for the extra lanes. That said, it's still likely to see congestion at rush hour. And no, it won't be pitch black inside. It is equipped with lighting as well as a host of safety devices in the event of crashes inside. — When will they start tearing down the viaduct? Crews will actually demolish part of the southern end of the elevated highway starting this weekend, but the majority of the demolition work will start after the tunnel and connecting ramps open in February. WSDOT hasn't released a specific schedule, but said it estimates the work will take about six months to complete.<doc-sep>
Here's a sentence that's already getting tired in Seattle: Getting around when the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes on Friday is going to be a nightmare. Officials haven't been downplaying the effects of the closure of the thoroughfare that carries roughly 90,000 cars a day into, out of and through downtown Seattle -- the Seattle Squeeze, as it's been dubbed. In fact, during the closure that begins the Period of Maximum Constraint, the leading advice is to try and not go to downtown Seattle. On King County Metro's closure preparation page, the first recommendation is to work from home if you can. "If possible, working from home (or teleworking) is the best (and comfiest) option during the SR 99 closure," reads the first sentence. If not that, try not going during peak commute times of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. RELATED: Seattle waterfront shuttle expands hours ahead of 'Seattle Squeeze' I don't know about you, but an 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. workday sounds great to me. But since most Seattleites probably have to actually go to work regardless of the viaduct closure, and since Metro can't accommodate everyone, we wondered about the best alternative routes for those who must drive. A timeline of the viaduct's history: The only advice from Metro is to use the Interstate 5 express lanes if you can (single occupant vehicles ARE allowed to use them), and account for heavy traffic. Seattle's Department of Transportation put together a handy site that has lots of info including current and future travel times by various routes, as well as tools galore that will no doubt help commuters take some of the pain out of the commute. When SeattlePI reached out to SDOT for suggestions of alternative routes, the department instead sent links to the above sites, so consider those your best official sources of what to do during the closure. RELATED: No 'pain,' no 'gain': Seattle Mayor hails post-viaduct waterfront park as traffic nightmare looms Lacking from all of these are any actual suggestions for what streets to take and from where. Certainly, Google Maps or, better yet, Waze, will be necessary to get the best real-time choice for routing. But just to get you familiar, we decided to gather some of the main alternatives to and from downtown Seattle during the viaduct closure. To be clear, these aren't necessarily recommendations -- the impacts of the closure will likely make every route a slow choice at one time of day or another. But they're probably among the routes that Google or Waze will suggest when you start punching in your work address on Jan. 12. Throughout the week, we'll have stories covering the various modes of transportation during the closure, and then we'll be covering developments during the three-week closure, so check back for updates and more. SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here. Senior editor Daniel DeMay can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.