SkyscraperCity Forum banner

[USA] United States | US Highways & State Highways

1M views 5K replies 351 participants last post by  geogregor 
#1 ·
Seattle proposal to replace dated highway with tunnel raises fears for some
By CURT WOODWARD
19 August 2006

SEATTLE (AP) - The Alaskan Way Viaduct shuttles more than 100,000 automobiles each day on twin concrete decks that soar above the sparkling waterfront. The highway is also drab, rickety and outdated, and Mayor Greg Nickels and his allies want to bury it.

Their proposal to replace the viaduct with a major tunnel has critics pointing to Boston, where another ambitious highway tunnel project -- nicknamed the "Big Dig" -- stampeded past deadlines and cost estimates.

"The Big Dig is the nightmare that we all have here in Seattle," said Nick Licata, the City Council president and a vocal critic of Nickels' plans.

Tunnel supporters dismiss such dire predictions, and believe they could gain a crucial stamp of public approval if the City Council agrees to hold a citywide vote on the tunnel this fall.

"Some cities make the right choice and some make the wrong choice," Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said. "We made the wrong one in the '50s, and now we've got a chance to fix it."

Seattle and Boston have the same yearning: to reclaim the views and property values scarred by elevated highways. Boston built a series of tunnels at a cost of $14.6 billion (euro11.4 billion), the most expensive highway project in U.S. history.

Though it is considered an engineering marvel, the Big Dig has been plagued by cost overruns, delays and faulty construction that culminated in one motorist's death under a collapsed tunnel ceiling in July.

Nickels' more modest plan in Seattle would consist of a single tunnel topped by an urban park and commercial zone.

While the comparison to the Big Dig is not entirely apt, Boston's troubles are likely to be cited in other public battles over major projects, Washington Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald said.

"The Big Dig now has become almost a mythical thing in the American public works landscape, for good and for ill," MacDonald said.

The viaduct definitely is a liability. Built in the 1950s, it was damaged in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in 2001, and engineers warn it could collapse in another temblor.

Two replacement options have emerged as serious contenders: Nickels' tunnel, and a new elevated highway. An elevated highway could cost between $2 billion and $3.1 billion (euro1.6 billion and euro2.42 billion); a tunnel could cost from $3 billion to $4.5 billion (euro2.3 billion and euro3.5 billion), Washington state says.

Two cheaper alternatives have been discussed. One relying on public transit and urban planning changes is discounted as unable to handle the viaduct's current traffic -- up to a quarter of the north-south travel in Seattle.

The second alternative would add beams and other braces to the viaduct, which could stay open during construction. But officials say it still might not withstand a major earthquake.

Some key legislators, who have already committed more than $2 billion (euro1.6 billion) for the viaduct project, warned Nickels that his tunnel plan is a nonstarter.

"The Legislature funded a rebuild, not a tunnel," House Speaker Frank Chopp and two other influential state lawmakers wrote to experts evaluating the plans.

Nickels' administration says it has accounted for inflation and difficulties in attracting enough money from Congress or other sources.

"Yes, it costs more money," said Ceis, the deputy mayor. "But it's worth it."

------

On the Net:

State DOT: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct

Nickels' viaduct plans: http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/issues/viaduct/
 
See less See more
#3,584 ·
Here's some pictures of construction from the US Route 301 expressway that will go around Middletown, Delaware, and connect with DE Route 1.


This is the overpass over Jamisons Corner Road, looking south from the intersection of Jamisons Corner Road & Hyetts Corner Road. This overpass will include an interchange.



This is looking from Summit Bridge Road, the current US 301, south of Armstrong Corner Road, which will have an interchange.





Here's an interactive map showing the proposed expressway:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...&ll=39.48311591927454,-75.63692330633546&z=12
 
#3,585 ·
SH 288 South Freeway, Houston, Texas

Officials Break Ground on Highway 288 Expansion.

The expansion of Highway 288 in Southeast Houston is officially underway.

Officials the Harris County, and the Texas Department of Transportation broke ground on the highway project that will add direct connectors to Beltway 8 and Loop 610, as well as add toll lanes to expand 288.

Construction is expected to be finished in 2019.​

Full report: http://patch.com/texas/pasadena-tx/officials-break-ground-highway-288-expansion

Project website: http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/houston/sh288-toll-lanes.html

A 2002 photo of the South Freeway. As you can see they built this freeway with express lanes in mind. The South Freeway was built in the first half of the 1980s, they probably didn't plan tolled express lanes at that time, but the space comes in handy. It is also the only freeway in Houston built without frontage roads.
 
#3,586 ·
Officials Break Ground on Highway 288 Expansion.

The expansion of Highway 288 in Southeast Houston is officially underway.

Officials the Harris County, and the Texas Department of Transportation broke ground on the highway project that will add direct connectors to Beltway 8 and Loop 610, as well as add toll lanes to expand 288.

Construction is expected to be finished in 2019.​

Full report: http://patch.com/texas/pasadena-tx/officials-break-ground-highway-288-expansion

Project website: http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/houston/sh288-toll-lanes.html

A 2002 photo of the South Freeway. As you can see they built this freeway with express lanes in mind. The South Freeway was built in the first half of the 1980s, they probably didn't plan tolled express lanes at that time, but the space comes in handy. It is also the only freeway in Houston built without frontage roads.
I wonder if it would have been economic to provide that future proofing if the designers had known how long it would take for the new lanes to get built. On the one hand, it would have be a lot more expensive to add the lanes now without the extra space; on the other, that's nearly 40 years of financing costs for unused land, and bridge extensions that are most of the way through their design life by the time they are actually useful. [Gets out 1980s Texas Instruments calculator.]
 
#3,588 ·
^^ good example of an exaggeration. I'd put Texas in one the top spots for fastest freeway construction in an industrialized, democratic country. Sorry if that doesn't fit your narrative.

Also, i'd be quite interested to see how fast you'd ditch that position if it was your neighberhood being paved over.
 
#3,589 ·
US 20, Idaho

Thornton Interchange opens in eastern Idaho today, completing series of U.S. 20 improvements

Traffic is now moving on the completed construction on the Thornton Interchange, finishing a series of projects that improve the safety of motorists on the stretch of U.S. 20 between Idaho Falls and Sugar City. The Thornton Interchange officially opened to traffic today

This large multi-project effort started in 2000. During the last 16 years, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) has replaced 18 dangerous intersections with seven interchanges. These interchanges allow safe entrance onto and exit off this 28-mile stretch of U.S. 20.

The total cost of all seven interchange projects (listed below) will be $85 million.

• St. Leon (Exit 311) – Completed in 2004-2005
• Hitt (Exit 313) – Completed in 2004-2005
• County Line (Exit 318) – Completed in 2001
• Menan-Lorenzo (Exit 325) – Completed in 2010-2011
• Thornton Interchange (Exit 328) – Completed in 2016-2017
• Sugar City-Salem (Exit 338) – Completed in 2001
• Driggs-Jackson (Exit 339) – Completed in 2001​

Full press release: http://apps.itd.idaho.gov/Apps/MediaManagerMVC/PressRelease.aspx/Preview/6416

This effectively turns a 5 mile stretch from Lorenzo to Rexburg into a freeway. There is now a controlled-access highway all the way from I-15 at Idaho Falls to north of Sugar City.
 
#3,598 · (Edited)
Yes the building was probably first, though odds are good a bridge has also been there a long time and the two have been arranged like that for longer than the building ever stood independently.

I wish I knew what that building was. I'm pretty sure it is associated with the railroad, which explains why they let it stand after the bridge went over it. But I am not sure WHICH railroad it was associated with. It could either have been the Rock Island or the Santa Fe. The Santa Fe had a number of freight stations and lesser passenger depots around its network resembling that building, but the main Santa Fe facilities are located to the south and east of that location. The Rock Island was the one to own the tracks in the general vicinity of that building, however they were the poorer, less competitive company in the 1940's when a structure like that was likely to have been built and I believe they used the former Santa Fe depot sometimes.

Either way, that's a cool find in Google Maps. In the old days I think Denver and Kansas City had similar neighborhoods on the fringes of their downtowns where viaducts crossing railroad yards flew over buildings and other structures. However in those two cities the rail yard areas have been redeveloped, in Denver the old yards are now an extension of downtown with high rise urban condos and office towers.
 
#3,600 ·
In October this year I have made a road-trip across some parts of the USA. I started in Florida, drove to the southernmost point of USA, Key West, and then I flew on the West Coast, where I drove on the Pacific Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco, with a few stops on the way. Then I flew to Las Vegas and made a round-trip of some National Parks in Arizona and Utah, before returning back to LA. I total I drove about 5.000 km (3.100 miles) in about 15 days.

I have taken some pictures of the roads I drove on, but until then, you can see below a short video with some of the most interesting highways that I drove on:

 
#3,606 ·
Bertha making progess

"Bertha", the tunnel boring machine digging a new route for Washington State Highway 99 underneath downtown Seattle, is making good progress. As you may know, there was a long delay earlier in the project when the cutter head was damaged and had to be brought to the surface and replaced. Since then, Bertha has been making good time. When the new tunnel becomes operational in 2019, the waterfront viaduct can finally be removed.

From the Seattle Times.
 
#3,610 ·
The last picture is so cool, like something out of a science fiction movie. It's amazing how a machine can dig and line a tunnel of this size.
 
#3,618 ·
It's a great freeway, I have worked and stayed in Palmdale (the town at the end of the video) many times, the place is a dump but the scenery is amazing. CA-14 isn't actually Sierra Highway, the old road runs mostly parallel to it through the mountains.

At around 4:00, to the left is Vasquez Rocks, where you can see the rock formation where Captain Kirk had his famous fight with the Gorn.

 
Top