Council, Mayor Resolve to Designate
Alaskan Way Viaduct High Priority

July 15, 2002 - A joint resolution of City Council and Mayor Greg Nickels passed today, recognizing the high importance and urgency of repairing the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The resolution clarifies that the Alaskan Way viaduct and the central waterfront seawall are really a single, indivisible project, and that they are heavily used, very old structures, in serious need of replacement for reasons of safety.

As to funding the project, the resolution makes clear that the City will work collaboratively with the Port of Seattle, Washington State, and other regional representatives, and will seek direct Federal support.

Council President Peter Steinbrueck, who sponsored the resolution, observed: "Replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is an urgent necessity because of its vulnerability to failure and its importance to freight mobility and our regional transportation system." He added, "Replacing the Viaduct with an underground tunnel will remove an unsafe, obsolete structure and reunite the urban fabric of the city with the central waterfront."

"The Council and I agree that replacing the viaduct and the seawall is a critical priority for Seattle and the entire region," said Mayor Greg Nickels. "After the Nisqually earthquake, there is no doubt about the risk to that critical corridor. And now there should be no doubt about our shared determination to find the funding to do this job, and to do it right."

The Resolution - Resolution 30497 - sets out principles to guide actions on the project:
1) Prioritize and address safety risks;
2) Keep the corridor open during construction;
3) Address urban design issues unique to each neighborhood along the 2.1 miles of the viaduct;
4) Mitigate impacts to business owners and other neighbors; and
5) Minimize environmental impacts.