PROJECT: SEATTLE’S SR 99: THE ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT REPLACEMENT TUNNEL Assignment directions
The Alaskan Way Viaduct and Battery Street Tunnel in downtown Seattle was constructed at a time when many cities thought the solution to their growing traffic problems was to erect a cross-town elevated highway along an underused waterfront. Seattle constructed the Alaskan Way Viaduct in 1953, and by 2001, when it was damaged in an earthquake, it was clear that it needed to be replaced. City officials decided to replace the viaduct with a tunnel, which would allow the waterfront to be reconnected to the rest of the city following the concept of smart growth. However, the complicated project encountered several difficulties. In this project, you will learn how massive infrastructure projects are managed.

Use the following sites to answer the questions below:

City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Resolution Number 30725
“Alaskan Way Viaduct and Battery Street Tunnel.” Historic American Engineering Record
Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, Washington State Department of Transportation
Seattle's new SR 99 tunnel
The final questions may require additional Internet research.

Assignment guidelines
Using the sources listed above, answer the following questions.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct
From a structural and engineering standpoint, what was significant about the original Alaskan Way Viaduct?
What were the innovative health and safety features of the original Battery Street Tunnel?
Who funded the original viaduct and tunnel, and how much did it cost?
What was the goal of the Permanent Highway Act of 1911?
Who objected to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and why?
The SR 99 Tunnel
What is City Council Resolution 30725?
What businesses form Seattle Tunnel Partners, and what kind of companies are they? What are some of the other contractors working on the project?
What was the initial estimated cost of the SR 99 tunnel? How much over budget was the project?
Who is financing the tunnel project?
According to the animation produced by Tekla, what are the tunnels project’s three components? What safety features will the tunnel include?
What caused the tunnel boring machine, nicknamed Bertha, to stop working the first time?
What caused Bertha’s second work stoppage? How was the machine fixed?
Do you think the SR 99 tunnel is a good idea? Why or why not? Do you think another solution might have worked just as well?
Name another similar tunnel project in a different city. Did that project have similar problems? Do you feel that planners and engineers learned from that process?
Submission requirements
Reproduce the questions in your report and number them. Write your responses in complete sentences; answers may be as short as a single sentence; some require analysis that may take a paragraph or more. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.