Get ready for the SR 99 tunnel

Photo courtesy WSDOT

On January 11, 2019, Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct closes for good. In early February 2019, the new State Route 99 tunnel under downtown Seattle opens which will forever change the way people get around Seattle.

Unlike the viaduct, the new two-mile long tunnel will be a direct route from the stadiums to the Space Needle without any mid-town entrances or exits.

Visit 99tunnel.com to learn about the changes, or sign up for email alerts about the tunnel opening and related road closures.

Alaskan Way Viaduct will close for good on January 11. The longest planned highway closure the Puget Sound Region has ever seen begins at 10pm Friday, January 11, 2019. This is necessary to begin the intensive work needed to connect SR 99 with the new tunnel before it can open to traffic in February.

Additional ramp closures near the stadiums beginning on January 4 and lasting up to two weeks after the tunnel opens mean up to six weeks of traffic disruption.

There are 90,000 vehicles a day that use the viaduct now, and everyone who can is being asked to consider alternate ways and times to get to and through Seattle.

SR 99 tunnel opens in February The tunnel will open approximately three weeks after the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes. You can experience the new tunnel, say goodbye to the viaduct, and hello to the future waterfront at a two-day Step Forward celebration on the weekend of February 2-3.

The tunnel will be free to use when it opens Tolling could begin as soon as summer of 2019. When tolling begins, tolls will range from $1 to $2.25 with a Good To Go! pass, depending on time of day. Learn how tolling will work.