Tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct and transforming Seattle's waterfront
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 05. 2024
- The Alaskan Way Viaduct was a double-deck concrete highway that marked Seattle's waterfront for more than 60 years. Old and seismically vulnerable, crews began carefully demolishing the roadway in February 2019. In September 2019 they brought down the final section of double-deck highway. This video captures the meticulous work of demolishing an urban highway and transforming an iconic waterfront.
These Cities: Skylines mods are getting out of hand.
I'm curious as to how many people here will get the reference lol
lol
😂
*Bonespurs lost AGAIN!!*
IKR
Can you imagine how the value of those old building has gone up?
since i have all that time when i am stuck in traffic
This is a very Seattle thing to say lol
@@ryattackn22 I guess it show that I live here LOL
Who do you think pushed/paid off the leadership to do it?
@@ryattackn22 actual not. I live in Southern California and that's the firet thing I thought of.
the before and after is amazing. how removing so much roadway can make a city look beautiful is awesome
Honestly it just looks like a normal city block now, nothing interesting anymore
@@North_Bound Oh yeah, because the highway was so interesting
@@peksn Yes actually, at least it looked different from any other city
@@North_Bound pretty sure if you ask the residents and the people who walk around the place they'll tell you the opposite.
Also, now it looks like any other cities? Bro whenever I think of an american city first thing that comes to mind is a freeway cutting through the middle of it, if anything it is now that it looks different to other cities.
Tearing it down because they realized it doesn't go to Alaska !
There is always one comment I wish i'd thought of myself.....this is it!!
really? I thought it did
Xander_^ GTA V : I hate false advertising... 🤣 WHAT were they thinking!!!
😂
I'm gonna miss this disgusting eyesore. Best drive in the city it was.
Amen brother!
@Jay S Agreed, Yoda.
A good drive, but not very good for having a freeway right in front of your doorstep. Really... stains the waterfront.
Hm
Best city drive on the west coast
I love planners in the 1950's - "Look at these lovely pacific ocean views. You know what this waterfront needs? a double-decker concrete freeway"
2:24 It's good to see Darth Vader has found some extra work
Only temporarily, though. The demolition is finished. He’s had to return to being an evil despotic ruler.
@@bobsemple7660 Yet he died.
omg XD
Haha
Meanwhile i5 in tacoma has been getting worked on for 20 years and they're still not done!
VS 8 months! I wasn't even born until 2004.
I was in my Apprenticeship when they started working on Tacoma's road project.
I've been in my trade for 21 years!
Oh and the guys that took down the viaduct should have built the tunnel
Just sayin
I moved there 20 years ago, and moved away 15 years ago... they're STILL not done?
I arrived in the Army at Ft Lewis in 1975. Work in Tacoma has always been going on
Don't forget i90
I don't know who ever came up with the idea of double-decker freeways blocking a city from it's waterfront. I was so happy when San Francisco tore down the Embarcadero Freeway. The waterfront is soooooo much better.
Anything for a sacrifice at the alter of the almighty car industry…
@@jimhodapp7958 CAR BAD
@@bbman10pwns car dependency bad unironically
@@lordgemini2376 not really
it's completely necessary for America's ideal lifestyle and architecture
@@os3306doubtful
america's landmass is absolutely massive, it was only inevitable that cars would become infrastructure.
97% of geographical america is considered rural. good luck trying to exist without a car if not living in the 3% area. many americans live a hybrid life, living within public transportation but also choosing to own a car.
Driving northbound on the viaduct was the most beautiful city drive in the state. That part will be missed. Glad I got to drive it many times.
Agreed!!
sad that the viaduct had to be torn down, but im glad that the city now looks more beautiful and doesnt have a wall between the downtown core and the waterfront. im especially happy for those that live and work in the buildings near the seneca street off ramp, i could never imagine how annoying it must be to have a 4th floor apartment or offic and still have to deal with cars zooming by your window.
plus, the whole thing was unstable anyways. it was churned out in the 50s, and there was no way it could have survived a major earthquake that the cascadia subduction zone is capable of producing. imagine the loss of life if the viaduct wasnt replaced on time, and if it had collapsed in an earthquake during rush hour.
Closed just a few weeks before I got my permit
@@xpl0dinggamrguy808 I mean.. is being in a tunnel really that much better in terms of an earthquake?
It's a shame that I only remember driving it once. I only lived in Washington state for 4 years and not in Seattle.
Highly impressive and a concise tribute to all the hard work!
Thanks Obamma
Truly impressive. The waterfront looks reborn.
Some sections of road have been covered by shade for 60 years, and finally are shining again :)
It's like uncovering a section of carpet from a piece of furniture that's been sitting in that spot for decades seeing a dark section of original color!
The shear amount of fantastic "lake front" listings, just went through the roof. And here's to the old skin flint who wouldn't sell because, "Someday it will be worth some money".
That would be the Ocean
Uhhh it’s a salt water bay....Elliot Bay.... Bay front? Water front?
Before big bertha even started, it was to have public parks and trees.
Wait until you find out that Seattle sold that waterfront property to the cruise ships AFTER they made the taxpayers pay for all of this!!!
They didn't want to do it before because then they would have been forced to use that money!!!!
I'm blown away by the stunning skill and creativity of all who worked on this epic project.
Thank you
wow the character of the place has completely transformed in such a short time !
I was just there two days ago for the first time in my life, and I was thinking to myself “It’s really weird that so much of this waterfront in a big city is basically empty”, but now I know why! Can’t wait to go back and see new buildings there, hopefully not just parking lots.
I love how a subtraction ended up being an amazing addition! Way to go Seattle.
There goes my favorite Gran Turismo 2 landmark
I remember playing that back in the late 90s! Was so excited every time I drove the viaduct.
Was the best game for me ,,
@@drunksquirrel2051 No, it literally was. Seattle Circuit.
Hell yeah..
@@drunksquirrel2051Yes it was: czcams.com/video/_S6zMvJ1SLM/video.html
Good grief.... That's an amazing transformation. Beautiful !!!
Thank God! That thing was hideous! We had a similar one in Boston that replaced by a tunnel with a park on top. It completely changed the feel of the city!
I hope they plant some trees there now.
They can't plant trees it would get in the way of 5g
That's exactly what I was thinking. Great opportunity for some urban green space. Perhaps they should consider shrinking that street as well.
@@randalltrieb3035 Aint' nobody gonna die cuz there internet was 4G instead of 5. Plant those trees
Jason Saunders that’s the plan, they will build a large park along the water front
@@VantagePoint2 A park, really? A car park, surely. :-/
Back in the day I ran one of those "claw" machines. We were tearing down a horse and livestock rendering plant next to a drywall factory. They no longer used the glue from the rendering plant to make the drywall.
Anyway, for me tearing stuff down with that claw was the most fun I ever had in my construction career. Fun, and getting paid to boot, what more could you ask for?
As a confused Seattleite, this well-made, positive, and informative video is much appreciated!
Wow! Congratulations to all the people who worked on taking this viaduct down. Job well done👌✨🥰
I'm surprised that one section of supports wasn't retained as a historic marker.
hebneh It was an eyesore
Yeah, definitely a nasty structure, but people in the future need to know it once disfigured the city, and now it’s gone.
@@brsi58 dude, seriously, they could have left out a piece of it as a souvenir. It really is sad that they didn't.
probably would've been a mild earthquake hazard to leave up. Also, would likely have to still be state inspected even if it doesn't carry a load anymore. Pure speculation, but I'm guessing they thought about it before tearing it all down
@@eddiehidani3683 The Viaduct was a huge earthquake risk. The Viaduct transported 120k cars a day. If a large earthquake hit Seattle (which has been predicted for many MANY years) then that entire structure would have collapsed, easily, trapping and killing thousands. Recreating what happened in San Fran, here in Seattle. Tunnels do very well during earthquakes, despite what people think. Earthquakes are like waves on the sea. When you're on the sea surface you feel every wave underneath you, but if you're underwater you don't feel the surface waves at all. Same thing with earthquakes and tunnels.
I visited Seattle in October 2019. So, it must just have taken down then. I wondered why the Waterfront looked a bit rough here and there.
My wife and I visited Seattle for our ten day 20th anniversary in early July 2013.
We had never been to the Pacific Northwest and wanted to experience the scenic and cultural offerings of Puget Sound and the city.
We flew to SeaTac from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and rode the light-rail downtown and back each day on the the clean, inexpensive and relaxing train while getting a sense of the surrounding neighborhoods.
We saw "everything" from Pike Place with the 100+ year old iron framed market with all the flowers, food venders including the fish tossers, bakeries, "original" Starbucks, restaurants, shops, COFFEE & CHOWDER!
We took ferries to West Seattle and Alki Beach Park several times and Bainbridge Island, the one mile '62 World's Fair mono-rail, the Space Needle park with art sculptures and museums/galleries.
We purposely came to also visit the world famous iconic Central Library designed by Rem Koolhass. We stayed for 3-4 hours (my wife was a librarian and I had studied architecture).
We took city buses to Fremont and the Troll, also COFFEE, shops and local food cafes.
We rode the Amtrak Cascades train from the newly restored King Street Station north up the Puget shoreline to Bellingham to sightsee and enjoy MORE great food and COFFEE.
We also bus toured the dramatic Western Washington University campus.
On our last day we walked the Pioneer Square area/shops/cafes/and, of course, more COFFEE!
The only thing of note, which we didn't fully appreciate at the time, was while we strolled through the park, we noticed literally less than a handful of tents and street "inhabitants". We gave it no attention at that moment, but now....who knew....??? 2019 and the extent of the new urban "culture".
We enjoyed ten days of no rain and a perfect celebration.
We're so glad visited when we did.......I doubt we'll be back........
But thanks for the memories!!!
its honestly nice to see states and cities revamping their towns an cities in a good way and making it more pleasing for the residents.
Nice video! Great collection of all the work done and fascinating to watch those big crusher jaws work.
I love how they protected the underground utilities under the bridge by just leaving the debris there till it was entirely done. That way if one of the big concrete beams broke away, which I suspect could've happened, the debris on the ground would protect the underground utilities by leaving a few feet of broken concrete and rebar as a cushion. Great plan.
I'm sure there are few people complaining about it being gone. The views are so much better, and the offices and homes that used to be inches from the road are so much quieter. Very cool video.
Great job! Looks
fantastic. Opens up the waterfront to new
investment and developments.
Right. Dandy. Come one come all. They are tearing down the city as fast as they can.
Not pretty to look at, but man I’ll miss that drive along the waterfront. The thumping of the cars above as you walked below the viaduct will always be something that sticks with me about it. I enjoyed that sound. RIP old friend.
I have never and would never live in Seattle. Worked across from the kingdome for a year in 89. Always though the viaduct was a HUGE blight on what should have been one of the most attractive parts of the city. When the proposal to do a tunnel for billions was put forth, I thought, great idea as long as Seattle pays for it. Tried but couldn't visualize in my minds eye how much better it would be until this video. Looks like money very well spent. Every single day, from this day forward, seattleites will have this beauty instead of blight. Now, if you could put the needles, human excrement and garbage filth under ground too, We would consider spending the day exploring the area. Lanay & Thomas from Kapowsin
by far one of the best videos I have ever watched, mankind never ceases to amaze, great editing and labeling sections of the video, good job indeed!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, fuck your profile pic, burn that shitrag
@@aerialcombat Cry about it
@@ABC-jg3pv why do you hate America? You know the Confederacy lost? We'll destroy every last insurrectionist, roll over them like General Sherman
@@ABC-jg3pv you say and act American yet support and wear the flag of traitors?
@JZ hahahaha!
An absolutely outstanding demolition job 👏👏
That is amazing engineering and coordination to do a project like this.Great job
What a MASSIVE job - looks like it was well-planned and well-executed - the scenery it opened up is striking...thanks for sharing this !!
Thanks Obamma
Amazing! Great job guys!!
If we would ever get the big earthquake we:re expecting someday. That old thing could have killed alot of people. Just thinking, that could have happened.
" FANTASTIC!.... This video and photo montage is wonderful. I love how it encapsulated the beginning to end period complete with ' before and after ' photos and captions. How some disliked this video is absurd. WDOT should get an award, not just for the massive infrastructure removal but the ' short and sweet ' and well done video compilation. "
Are you quoting yourself?
It's all very cool! It amazes how bright an open the waterfront looks w/o the viaduct!
I was around the Seattle waterfront a few weeks ago, and was blown away by the dramatic reduction in noise pollution. I am looking forward to how the waterfront turn out in a couple of years, so don't Coug it!
An outstanding accomplishment! It stood very close to us. It was deconstructed very safely, successfully! Thanks Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition crew. Thanks.
wow I am impressed with the video, I can only imagine the level of commitment of all the staff.
Visited last year . Love Seattle ,best decision made for the city , beautiful view from the sound at dusk 🌆
Thanks Obamma
OMG! I thought that eye sore / death trap would never go away! That pristine view of the Olympic mountains can finally be seen from town. Bravo!
I almost miss it...
Those were some crazy on/off ramps, though!
Used to rip through there on my RD 350, ahh, the 80's...
Impressive, haven’t been to Seattle since 1997, can’t wait to return to see the open aspect waterfront, incredible!
I walk along the Embarcadero many days a week - so excited for Seattle! And can't wait to visit soon!
Awesome video! Really enjoyed it, great way to showcase engineering and preserve history
Doing this probably created billions of dollars of value...
@Dindo Nuffin A simple Google search reveals that the concrete will be pulverized and used for the Battery Street Tunnel. That the concrete and steel are being recycled was also noted in the video.
@Dindo Nuffin concrete is always recycled, in fact it makes some jobs cheaper
@Dindo Nuffin did you not watch the video? It said all steel and concrete were recycled.
Nope
Yep.
Right into the pockets of
politicians and their friends.
Isn’t that special.
Beautiful work. Thank you!
Super job! What a difference it makes to the waterfront, well done. I used to drive that working in the south.
Hi my beautiful people’s
🇺🇸❤️🇪🇹❤️🇪🇷 one love !
Thank you 🙏 for sharing it’s good memory to remember now it’s beautiful views also when the park done it’s amazing my town
Yes my Habesha friend, that is correct.
I'm gonna miss the view travelling North on this magnificent stretch of highway.
What a huge undertaking! Good for you, Seattle!!
That’s impressive destructive engineering. And what a huge improvement. I hope more cities follow this path.
Chicago needs to follow suit by taking down Lake Shore Drive. A 4-5 lane highway on either side blocking direct access to Lake Michigan in most places. I hate this highway SO much.
@@jimhodapp7958 just learned Syracuse NY is taking there’s down. So, it could happen. They’ve learned that the cost to keep is higher than taking them down. It divides neighborhoods, is an eyesore, and prevents community development, especially if it blocks waterfronts.
Hats off to the construction crew, what a job!
Don’t know if ‘construction crew’ is the right term here :P
Hope no one got hurt on the job. Incredible progress. Alaskan way looks clean and spacious
Wow..... an awesome video showing what can be achieved with the right planning, approach and environmental protection.
The rental values of those buildings will skyrocket now they have actual water views!
Great job, thanks for making such an interesting vijeo. 👍🏻
WOW AMAZING!! great job...looks soo much pretty now ...sorry to see it go but what a difference it made gone..good job!!!
They spent millions retro fitting it after the earthquake. 71 million spent on fixing the ceiling in the Kingdome...two years before they blew it up. Someone's making money.
Dude, we were just talking about that yesterday.😁 Insane.
That's how government works in the good old USA 🇺🇸😒$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Swiss Richgyy that’s such bs
DRATS run Seattle and the state...of course the money is sliding into a politicians pocket
Terry F wow... yeah someone is definitely making money. This thing was in great shape after the upgrade post earthquake. Beautiful drive too.
It took the Loma Prieta earthquake to remove the eyesore Central Freeway along the San Francisco Embarcadero. The tyranny of the automobile must end in crowded downtowns
Its not often I look at big infrastructure projects and think about the time, labour and resources needed to do these things, but this video gave me a real sense of the task stop hand in quite a short time frame. Well done to the video maker and the people who did the job to make the video possible in the first place.
Great video. Amazing work and coordination by the contractor. It felt like this project just started and you’re already done.
I remember when it was built.
Gary Maxfield That is awesome Gary😀
awww. :( sentimental.
There is still rather a huge sea of asphalt - but at least a good step in the right direction.
Yup. Still not enough green space, markets, cycleways, playgrounds, allotments, pedestrianized areas etc. Still too car-centric.
@@saynotomid-rollads9267 Where tf are they gonna fit playgrounds 😂
Excellent work of the timeline.
Awesome job. Can’t wait to see the second phase!
This is great!! There will be so much more room for all the homeless people to lay around 🤗
lmao 😂
Seattle liberalism at its best
@@michaelangelo8898 conservative cities have this problem too though
@@nobrang5146 All cities have homeless but the ones with the highest rates per capita are all democrat
ranm.ranker.com/list/top-10-u-s-cities-with-a-high-homelessness-rate/greg
@@chesterg.791 , most largest cities are democrats because they consist of a diverse group of inhabitants. Seattle as well as most west coast cities are good moderate temp and jobs just no housing. Maybe these cities have a little more empathy too. What is your solutions then, just kick them out to somewhere else?
San Francisco tore down its bayfront freeway (in front of the ferry terminal) after it was damaged in the 1989 earthquake. Best thing done in SF in a long time, along with part of the central freeway taken out for the same reason. Neither of them were replaced with anything except revised traffic patterns on city streets.
This was amazing, thanks for sharing!
lucky to have driven on it a few times, but the waterfront looks much better now...great work!!!
Well, I live on the area and have been watching them take it down for a few months now. It will certainly open up a lot of new opportunity with it gone, but I'll also kinda miss it, just sense it's always been there.
I lost count of the number of times I said, "Wow..."
Impressive! Thank you for filming!
The demolition process is very impressive! They brought the whole viaduct down so fast and in such an orderly fashion! Especially considering just how close they were to buildings, businesses, and ongoing traffic. They didn't waste any resources and found a way to do it that would permit the flow of traffic to continue safely.
While I will miss the view driving north on it its good to see this old noisy, not so safe to drive on, eyesore go! nothing lasts forever!
They did in less than a year... Wow, in my city SCT built a 400m ramp in over 2 years 😰
WSDOT can take things down fast... Building, not so much..
I’ve only been to Seattle twice. Once in 2007 to catch Daft Punk, and two months ago. In 2007 that road was SUCH A HUGE PART of my Seattle experience. Two months ago, overlooking the harbour, something seemed out of step with my memory of the city of 12 years prior, but it didn’t click. I’m totally floored to see this video honestly, I had no idea that was what changed.
What a fantastic transformation. Well done Seattle
I loved to drive Alaskan way and it's sad that I cant drive anymore but also exciting to drive new tunnel!
My son witnessed a driver of a scooter crash and was thrown over the edge to his death about 3 years ago. I'm so glad it's gone.
You'll pay to drive the tunnel $$$
@@tsapp2831 but the view from the tunnel is worth it.
@@user-bc3pc5gu2y lol
@@user-bc3pc5gu2y hahahaha...
I'm more impressed they showed almost no homeless camps in the video, I think they had 1 in there for a few frames but I'm too lazy to check.
Like the homeless: too lazy to work!
@@tomrogers9467 lol
Thank you City planners and crew!
The Waterfront looks so much better now from the Water.
Seattle has gained much from the Trials And Tribulations of this Immense undertaking.
Bravo‼️⛵️
You are delusional.
George Jetson. With a Name Like George Jetson?
We ALL know Who the Delusional One Truly Is‼️
DONLD TRUMP‼️‼️‼️CRAZY MAN
LITTLE MELTDOWN MAN😩
Wow, just wow. Amazing work!
Gran Turismo's Seattle track will never be the same.
Ought to start on the disaster called the hwy 16 interchange in Tacoma next. Get it out of there by the Tacoma dome and reduce congestion by a couple hundred percent through there.
And while you're at it, add to your list a few other road / bridge mistakes in Tacoma which is so disconnected from the waterfront that is so near, but so far away.
No way. I like all the roads around that section of i5. I look at like War Driver training for our coming Mad Max future
Hahaha hell yeah but maybe in my pickup not my mustang
I like how the best part is the before and after pictures and yet the video rushes through them
Wow, that's quite an accomplishment. To remove onramps and offramps and even a tunnel, without using dynamite! This was a well orchestrated demolition. They did all of this with people and buildings very close by and without causing any damage to the nearby buildings or people! Great job, very good!
Good job on speed edit. I mean four minutes is incredible.
Thanks guys goodjob👍 The waterfronts going to be so much quieter wo the Viaduct traffic and demo work. Cant wait til its landscaped final state.
That's crazy. I spent many years across the sound at sub base Bangor and travelled the viaduct many times. I'll be completely lost if I ever go back. I loved it there.
Wow it looks so much better. I’m glad you guys got to take yours down before I major earthquake did it for you… I remember seeing the Cypress Viaduct as a kid and then seeing it collapsed knowing there were still people trapped inside stuck with me from a kid. I remember in 2016 when I went to Seattle for the first time and I saw that freeway and it gave me the chills. So glad to see it go
Amazing work to take it all down. Such a shame that it was mostly replaced by more roads and parking lots instead of a grand pedestrian-centered park.
Well, we can always tear up the lots and road later, and create a truly awesome public space.
I do believe there is a major Alaskan Way reconstruction project, so this is all temporary.
Most of it will eventually be public parkland. It's a multi-year project. waterfrontseattle.org/
The waterfront will be rebuilt, the plan will be executed after the viaduct is fully removed and land underneath cleared.
Seattle will be under water in 10 years anyways. #cowfarts
Paul Cox It will be awesome to have all that parkway area so homeless can take it up and sprinkle aids infested needles everywhere
Finally that nasty thing is gone. Can't wait to see more improvements to the area.
Yes, yes. You're right. Still . . .
Benaiah Ahmadinejad uneducated minorities? Do you think the new generation is stupid or something? You, the old generation has done NOTHING for America.
I sincerely hope that "improvements" don't include more waterfront condos. Quite enough of those already.
That is amazing engineering and coordination to do a project like this. Great job! Looks fantastic. Opens up the waterfront to new investment and developments.
very impressive construction, loved the video
A Billion whatever well spent.
Makes the waterfront area look clean and fresh befitting the Seattle image.
Now to use that water to rinse all the piss off the streets and to wash away the homeless
R.I.P old friend you will be missed for years to come Seattle will never be the same with you gone
Truly, this video is interesting from beginning to end, and I was very surprised by the before and after of the work done!
I can't wait to see how the waterfront will continue change going forward!