6-02-19
Saturday
I drove 230 miles round trip to hike. Sunday I decided to stay in town.
How about a hike along the Seattle Waterfront. I also wanted to get
some photos of the demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. I was up on
it when it was first closed and opened up to walkers for a day. Now it
was time to record the progress of demolishing it. I drove to the north
end by the project to build Expedia's new headquarters. I hit the trail
at about 9:30 am. There is nothing like a sunny spring day in Seattle.
Two big cruise ships were docked at Pier 90. Another one was docked at
the Bell St. Terminal downtown. The trail through Centennial Park is
about a mile long. There were quite a few folks out walking, running,
and biking. The bikers have a parallel and separate trail. The trail
goes right along the shore.
On my previous visit one month earlier the rose garden showed the roses had been cut back. There were no signs of buds. Now the bushes are covered in flowers. I took a short break there. When I reached Alaskan Way I was off trail and on the wide sidewalk. When I reached the next cruise ship I found that they were boarding this morning. The Norwegian Bliss is 1,094' long with capacity for 4,004 passengers and 1,716 crew. It looked like all 4,004 people were arriving at once. It was as bad as the crowd letting out of a football game at Century Link Field. Once past that things improved. I reached the spot where the standing viaduct meets the heavy equipment arrayed against it. Piles of rubble were on the ground. There was no Sunday work going on. The southbound viaduct has a sign showing that says "left lane ends in 1500'." Well now all the lanes end in less than that.
I continued south to the ferry dock. That too is under construction. By 2023 the entire terminal will have been torn down and replaced. All that while it still remains in operation. I took some photos of the construction and one of the soon be be replaced terminal. I took a few detours on my way back north. There are a number of spots where you can go out on a pier to get views of Elliot Bay and the city. For someone who has lived in the city for 42 years and the area for six decades, I seldom spend much time downtown. The middle of the old viaduct is gone. You can see what the waterfront will become in a few years. I lost an incredible view while driving and the city gained easier access to the waterfront. At Pike St. I crossed over Alaskan Way and headed up the stairs to the east.
I turned north when the stairs reached Western Avenue. On my many drives along the viaduct I saw the fenced viewpoint right above the roadway. Now I was looking for access to it. I found it easily enough this park. I had heard of Victor Steinbrueck Park but not never been there. Quite a nice viewpoint . Right below I could see where more of the viaduct is being deconstructed. Most of it is being torn down. Here it is above the active railroad tracks. They seem to be taking it apart rather than tearing it apart. It is going much slower. They have removed parts of the old roadway leaving gaps in the south and northbound roadway. Farther south there is heavy equipment on both levels that will need to be removed. The roadway is not there anymore. I tried to figure out how they will remove heavy equipment. I have no idea. I guess I will find out when the time comes.
Rather than retrace my steps I continued north to Lenora St. where it looked like I might be able to drop back to the waterfront. In fact there is a bridge and then an elevator/stairs that do drop back down. In the middle of the stairway, several floors up, was a rental Lime Bike. Folks leave them in the darnedest places. From the waterfront I retraced my morning steps back to my car. There were a lot more folks out now. I arrived back at the car at 12:45 pm. I will try to get out a few more times while the viaduct demolition continues. Seattle is changing at a fast pace these days. It is nice to record some of the changes.
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Trips - 2019
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On my previous visit one month earlier the rose garden showed the roses had been cut back. There were no signs of buds. Now the bushes are covered in flowers. I took a short break there. When I reached Alaskan Way I was off trail and on the wide sidewalk. When I reached the next cruise ship I found that they were boarding this morning. The Norwegian Bliss is 1,094' long with capacity for 4,004 passengers and 1,716 crew. It looked like all 4,004 people were arriving at once. It was as bad as the crowd letting out of a football game at Century Link Field. Once past that things improved. I reached the spot where the standing viaduct meets the heavy equipment arrayed against it. Piles of rubble were on the ground. There was no Sunday work going on. The southbound viaduct has a sign showing that says "left lane ends in 1500'." Well now all the lanes end in less than that.
I continued south to the ferry dock. That too is under construction. By 2023 the entire terminal will have been torn down and replaced. All that while it still remains in operation. I took some photos of the construction and one of the soon be be replaced terminal. I took a few detours on my way back north. There are a number of spots where you can go out on a pier to get views of Elliot Bay and the city. For someone who has lived in the city for 42 years and the area for six decades, I seldom spend much time downtown. The middle of the old viaduct is gone. You can see what the waterfront will become in a few years. I lost an incredible view while driving and the city gained easier access to the waterfront. At Pike St. I crossed over Alaskan Way and headed up the stairs to the east.
I turned north when the stairs reached Western Avenue. On my many drives along the viaduct I saw the fenced viewpoint right above the roadway. Now I was looking for access to it. I found it easily enough this park. I had heard of Victor Steinbrueck Park but not never been there. Quite a nice viewpoint . Right below I could see where more of the viaduct is being deconstructed. Most of it is being torn down. Here it is above the active railroad tracks. They seem to be taking it apart rather than tearing it apart. It is going much slower. They have removed parts of the old roadway leaving gaps in the south and northbound roadway. Farther south there is heavy equipment on both levels that will need to be removed. The roadway is not there anymore. I tried to figure out how they will remove heavy equipment. I have no idea. I guess I will find out when the time comes.
Rather than retrace my steps I continued north to Lenora St. where it looked like I might be able to drop back to the waterfront. In fact there is a bridge and then an elevator/stairs that do drop back down. In the middle of the stairway, several floors up, was a rental Lime Bike. Folks leave them in the darnedest places. From the waterfront I retraced my morning steps back to my car. There were a lot more folks out now. I arrived back at the car at 12:45 pm. I will try to get out a few more times while the viaduct demolition continues. Seattle is changing at a fast pace these days. It is nice to record some of the changes.
 Two Cruise Ships |
 A Rose Is A Rose |
 Norwegian Bliss |
 New Pier |
 Lane Ends In 1500' |
 View Of Viaduct |
 Demotion |
 Ferry Dock Construction |
 Viaduct Island |
 Smith Tower |
 Inside Ferry Terminal |
 Stair Steps |
 Out For A Sail |
 Great Wheel Center |
 Really Tall & Narrow |
 Container Ship |
 Float Plane |
 Sailing |
 Coming & Going |
 Demolishing Viaduct |
 The Great Wheel |
 Straight On View |
 Tug Pulling Barge |
 Fountain/Waterfall |
 Steinbrueck Park |
 Missing Pieces |
 Missing Roadway |
 Sculpture Park |
 Space Needle Close Up |
 Still Out Sailing |
 A Gathering |
 Grain Terminal |
Trips - 2019
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