Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct to close Friday for 2 weeks

SEATTLE – Seattle commuters are bracing for a two-week closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct by adjusting work schedules or making plans to bike, bus or take other transportation to work.

State Route 99 through downtown Seattle will fully close 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Crews will begin closing on-ramps to the viaduct at 10 p.m. Thursday.

Transportation officials are warning of heavy congestion throughout the region. They’re urging commuters to plan ahead.

The highway between South Spokane Street and the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel is being closed so the tunneling machine known as Bertha can begin digging underneath the roadway near Yesler Way.

About 90,000 vehicles move through this stretch of the viaduct each day.