The Alaska Way Viaduct (Washington State Route 99) travels through downtown Seattle along the waterfront. It is the second and smaller of the two major north/south arterials through Seattle. Over 100,000 vehicles a day utilize Highway 99. The double-decked viaduct moves traffic north on the top level and south on the level underneath, both have a sweeping view of Elliott Bay. Both north and south bound traffic are brought to ground level at the north end of the viaduct and pass through the Battery Street Tunnel under the Belltown neighborhood. The viaduct is scheduled to be replaced in the next several years due to age (opened in April 1953) and damage from the Nisqually earthquake in 2001. I’m sure this tunnel will be replaced as well. Many years ago, while at work on the Seattle waterfront, listening to the local news on the radio, my co-workers and I (longshoremen) heard a report that traffic was backed up heading southbound and the tunnel was closed. A co-worker of ours was late for work as well. Several hours later the tardy co-worker arrived and told us, he’d lost a front wheel from his old Chevy pickup in the tunnel, hence his late arrival and the traffic jam on Hwy. 99.
