Seattle woman, 33, is arrested for huge Capital One hack after 'stealing data from more than ONE HUNDRED MILLION credit card customers and applicants in America and Canada'
Paige Thompson (above), 33, made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday and was ordered detained pending a hearing on Aug. 1, the Justice Department said.
Seattle ' s Alaskan Way Viaduct was many things — beloved, hated, seismically unsound, embattled, short, a helluva view. And after 65 years , the final bits Bertha ran into its fair share of trouble, taking much longer than initially forecasted, and giving the viaduct a bit of extra time to dazzle with its views
A surging population and worsening traffic describe Seattle today. But the same scenario played out a century ago as Seattle grew from small town to big city. Rapid growth created an urgent need for a major new roadway. The Alaskan Way Viaduct was part of the solution. But why was it elevated ?
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
How have we loved the Viaduct? Let us count the ways.
Click through to learn about the history of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way was once the main arterial along Seattle's busy waterfront (though part of it was originally Railroad Avenue). But by the 1950s it and other city streets were clogged with traffic, and city leaders had settled on building the viaduct to let drivers skirt the busy downtown streets. The viaduct first opened in 1953 and by the end of the 20th century, the raised portion of state Route 99 was carrying 110,000 cars per day through the city.
Now, part of it has already been torn down and the rest will follow once the tunnel to replace it is completed. But before we say goodbye to a piece of Seattle's skyline, look back at the viaduct over the years, from before its inception to its demolition.
Caption: Alaskan Way prior to construction of of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Exact date unknown.
Remembering Those Lost 18 Years Ago on 9/11
Once more, families will gather at ground zero, where nearly 3,000 people died on that bright September morning.
On Nov. 21, 2019, crews removed the final piece of the Alaskan Way Viaduct from a hillside just north of Pike Place Market. This video uses drone footage to
Seattle has a longtime moratorium on other late-year roadwork, said Heather Marx, downtown mobility director for the Seattle Department of Transportation. Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the age of the Alaskan Way Viaduct . It was completed about 65 years ago.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, Aug. 19, 1948, less than five years before completion of the viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, Aug. 19, 1948.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The February 1950 photo caption read: Participants in city's condemnation proceedings for the Alaskan Way Viaduct examine model of the Aurora Avenue section of the project.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Feb. 7, 1950 photo caption read: City Engineer R. W. Finke, left, gives go-ahead, and power shovel digs first scoop of dirt preparatory for construction of first unit of Alaskan Way Viaduct near Western Avenue and Battery Street.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 1950 photo caption read: This aerial view shows the start of construction on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, being built to relieve Seattle's serious traffic congestion.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Jan. 28, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
An area where the Alaskan Way Viaduct now stands, April 25, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, April 26, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 26, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The May 1951 photo caption read: There's a real big show underway along the waterfront where the Alaskan Way Viaduct is being constructed, and these two 5-story-high cranes straddle railway switching tracks.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, May 24, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, June 25, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, Oct. 29, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The March 4, 1952 photo caption read: Casting concrete rails for guard fence. Work is done on job as construction advances.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The March 4, 1952 photo caption read: Rail traffic has been squeezed down to one track throughout construction period.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The March 1952 photo caption read: Looking north along the viaduct near Lenora Street where the lower deck carrying southbound traffic edges under the top northbound deck. Note the beauty that the giant concrete supports add to the viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Battery Street Tunnel under First Avenue North, March 10, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Looking north on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, March 11, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, March 11, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Looking toward Elliott Bay on Battery Street between Second and First Avenue, March 12, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, early 1950s. (Seattle Municipal Archives)
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, early 1950s. (Seattle Municipal Archives)
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct looking toward Elliott Bay from Second Avenue, March 12, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 4, 1953 photo caption read: Seafair Queen Iris Adams and Mayor Allan Pomeroy had something to laugh about Saturday as they bent every effort to cut the ribbon to open the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Opening ceremonies for a section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 4, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Opening ceremonies for a section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 4, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Traffic moves over the Alaskan Way Viaduct after opening ceremonies, Saturday, April 4, 1953. The view is to the south.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 6, 1953 photo caption read: The Alaskan Way Viaduct at 4:45 p.m. on first day of regular operation.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Oct. 5, 1953 photo caption read: This view of new subway south toward The Post-Intelligencer building shows retaining walls under construction on each side, the north portal of Battery Street subway and extent of excavation.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Aug. 17, 1956 photo caption read: Steel poles, used for new luminous lighting on Alaskan Way were manufactured by Pacific Car and Foundry Company's Renton plant.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Dec. 16, 1956 photo caption read: Here's how the extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct looks from street level.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The December 1956 photo caption read: Stretching southward in this view is the partially completed addition to the Alaskan Way Viaduct which will extend from the end of the present viaduct to Holgate Street.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The southern portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in the 1950s with the Smith Tower at upper left. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Feb. 17, 1959 caption reads: This is the scene where Olaf Edward Holman was killed yesterday while working on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Sept. 1959 photo caption read: Seafair Queen Diane Gray applies the scissors with gusto yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the Spokane Street extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. [Former Gov. Al Rosellini and then-Mayor Gordon Clinton are on the left and right, respectively.]
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Sept. 1959 photo caption read: A single lane of cars moves north on the Spokane Street extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct yesterday after dedication ceremonies.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
City Engineer W. E. Parker, right, stands beside damaged piling behind seawall along Alaskan Way, where teredos (wood-boring worms) ate into a number of pilings. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Feb. 29, 1952.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, March 2, 1950.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
From left: E.H. Lindstrom, city engineer, Robert Artelle, south district city engineer, James Hayward, transportation committee chairman, James Robertson, assistant city engineer. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
From left: E.H. Lindstrom, city engineer, Robert Artelle, south district city engineer, James Hayward, transportation committee chairman, James Robertson, assistant city engineer. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Feb. 1, 1960.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Seawall damage at Washington Street and Alaskan Way in Seattle, Jan. 5, 1986.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 26, 1951 photo caption read: Workmen on new multi-million dollar Alaskan Way Viaduct place steel stringers in railing molding, in preparation for pouring of concrete.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way near the viaduct. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct is seen in the back of this picture from March 26, 1975.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Nov. 1961 photo caption read: The first cars leaving the viaduct via Seneca Street.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Feb. 1, 1960 photo caption read: Most motorists don't notice wires over high-speed freeways, such as this one over the new Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, August 9, 1971.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Jan. 8, 1962 photo caption read: Part of damage to the Alaskan Way Viaduct caused by the fall of part of the old Armory.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, July 15, 1982.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The August 14, 1977 photo caption read: 54,000 vehicles a day roar above the waterfront on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Nov. 26, 1983.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The July 27, 1977 photo caption read: Critics say the viaduct blocks waterfront development.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Readers in 1982 complained that cars were going 70 mph instead of the 50 mph speed limit.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Nov. 28, 1988 photo caption read: The Burlington Northern track will no longer be used by freight trains. All trains will be moved to the tunnel that runs under downtown Seattle.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Oct. 29, 1957 photo caption read: This shows a section of the Alaskan Way viaduct extension where work is progressing on the second deck.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, Aug. 19, 1948.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Oct. 10, 1991 caption read: Officials say it would cost $250 million to update the 40-year-old Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The area that is now home to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Aug. 19, 1948.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way viaduct, curving southward along the waterfront from the Battery Street tunnel to the industrial area, Oct. 18, 1989.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Traffic going north on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Jan. 12, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Russ Morisch, 32, was homeless near the Viaduct on Christmas Day, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Scott McCleary, 54, lived in his car under the Viaduct on Christmas Day, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Construction workers, Sean Christy, left center in pit, John Ipsen, center in pit, and Paul Micenko, right, work the concrete on a new column foundation on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 14, 2008. The effort was the final phase of work to strengthen the column foundations between Columbia Street and Yesler Way.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Racers run along the viaduct during the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, June 21, 2008.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
An onramp to the Alaskan Way Viaduct at Columbia Street winds its way through downtown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A view of the Seneca Street offramp of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, July 24, 2006.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Night traffic on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Dec. 18, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Gov. Chris Gregoire uses a chart while Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles and King County Executive Ron Sims listen to options for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct during an Olympia news conference, March 14, 2007. That month, Seattle voters didn't favor a tunnel or an elevated replacement for the existing viaduct, complicating an already messy struggle between city and state leaders. The struggle continues.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A pedistrian walks under the Alaskan Way Viaduct toward Coleman Dock on Oct. 26, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Traffic travels along the lower-deck of the viaduct at the beginning of the afternoon commute, Oct. 23, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Crews installed temporary support structures below the lower deck of the Alaskan Way Viaduct between Columbia Street and Yesler Way, February 11, 2008.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
State Department of Transportation maintenance crews clean the viaduct, near Battery Street, Oct. 13, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bridge inspectors give the viaduct a semiannual inspection on Oct. 13, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A view looking south from Belltown, April 25, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, reflected in a waterfront mud puddle, on March 9, 2007. Seattle's Bank of America Tower and Smith Tower are prominent in the background.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A man walks below the Alaskan Way Viaduct, near South Atlantic Street, July 24, 2006.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Participants run south in the northbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct during the St. Patrick's Day Dash, March 16, 2008.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Oct. 19, 1989.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Oct. 13, 1996.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
An Alaskan Way Viaduct support column at South Washington Street leans outward and is secured with metal straps, April 1, 2001.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct as seen going west down Columbia Street, March 21, 2002.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The October 2009 photo caption read: Members of the Seattle City Council and Washington state legislators applaud as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Gov. Chris Gregoire sign a memorandum to replace the waterfront viaduct. A deep-bored tunnel is planned to replace the aging structure, a central issue in Seattle's upcoming mayoral election. Nickels, who was defeated in the primary, said some issues are worth losing an election over. "This is one of them," he said.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct is shown during a biannual inspection on Oct. 24, 2009.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Crews had demolished part of the southern portion of the viaduct in February of that year, the first time that any portion of the structure had been torn down since it was built.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition operation continues in Seattle, October 2011. The highway, which normally carries 110,000 cars per day, is being partly demolished. The northern half is scheduled to reopen on October 31st.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition operation continues in Seattle, October 2011. The highway, which normally carries 110,000 cars per day, is being partly demolished. The northern half is scheduled to reopen on October 31st.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition operation continues in Seattle, October 2011. The highway, which normally carries 110,000 cars per day, is being partly demolished. The northern half is scheduled to reopen on October 31st.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition operation continues in Seattle, October 2011. The highway, which normally carries 110,000 cars per day, is being partly demolished. The northern half is scheduled to reopen on October 31st.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition operation continues in Seattle, October 2011. The highway, which normally carries 110,000 cars per day, is being partly demolished. The northern half is scheduled to reopen on October 31st.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition operation continues in Seattle, October 2011. The highway, which normally carries 110,000 cars per day, is being partly demolished. The northern half is scheduled to reopen on October 31st.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
John Lui uses a ground-penetrating radar after cracks and sinking roadways were discovered on South King Street, adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct and an area where a pit is being dug to rescue the broken waterfront tunnel boring machine. It was not determined if the sinking was related to the digging nearby. Photographed on Thursday, December 11, 2014.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray speaks to the media after cracks and sinking roadways were discovered on South King Street, adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct and an area where a pit is being dug to rescue the broken waterfront tunnel boring machine. It was not determined if the sinking was related to the digging nearby. Photographed on Thursday, December 11, 2014.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A crack and sinking roadway are shown after they were discovered on South King Street, adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct and an area where a pit is being dug to rescue the broken waterfront tunnel boring machine. It was not determined if the sinking was related to the digging nearby. Photographed on Thursday, December 11, 2014.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A man takes a photo of a crack and sinking roadway after they were discovered on South King Street, adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct and an area where a pit is being dug to rescue the broken waterfront tunnel boring machine. It was not determined if the sinking was related to the digging nearby. Photographed on Thursday, December 11, 2014.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray stands on a crack and sinking part of the roadway after they were discovered on South King Street, adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct and an area where a pit is being dug to rescue the broken waterfront tunnel boring machine. It was not determined if the sinking was related to the digging nearby. Photographed on Thursday, December 11, 2014.
65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Fast forward to 2015, and 1,000 feet of the tunnel to replace the viaduct has been dug, while the tunneling machine, Bertha, has been idle due to a breakdown since December 2013. Digging would resume in December 2015, and continues (albeit with a few more setbacks) today.
Work progresses on the Highway 99 waterfront tunnel in Seattle after it was announced that the tunnel boring machine Bertha will resume digging in November 2015. Photographed on Friday, July 17, 2015.
Police: Body found along North Freeway feeder near Spring
Deputies are investigating the discovery of a body along the North Freeway feeder road Wednesday morning. The body was found along the northbound feeder road just north of North Vista, near FM 1960, according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office. Investigators are still working to determine how the person died, Constable Mark Herman said.Photos from the scene show a small backhoe on the side of the feeder road and several squad cars.As of 9:15 a.m., all northbound feeder lanes and the FM 1960 exit ramp are closed as detectives work.Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area.
Seattle Times transportation reporter. Sometime next year , Seattle voters may be asked to endorse an aerial waterfront park, to replace The group originally sought to make the entire 1953-vintage viaduct a park, but changed course in June when consultants said seismic retrofitting would cost too much .
Seattle has long had a love-hate relationship with the downtown stretch of Highway 99. It’ s a noisy After the ribbon cutting, construction continued on auxiliary pieces of the viaduct , with staggered openings Come next year, when the mechanized crab-claws come for the 65 - year -old viaduct , the
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The lower deck is shown inside the Highway 99 waterfront tunnel in Seattle after it was announced that the tunnel boring machine Bertha will resume digging in November 2015. Photographed on Friday, July 17, 2015.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Work progresses on the Highway 99 waterfront tunnel in Seattle after it was announced that the tunnel boring machine Bertha will resume digging in November 2015. Photographed on Friday, July 17, 2015.
65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way was once the main arterial along Seattle's busy waterfront (though part of it was originally Railroad Avenue). But by the 1950s it and other city streets were clogged with traffic, and city leaders had settled on building the viaduct to let drivers skirt the busy downtown streets. The viaduct first opened in 1953 and by the end of the 20th century, the raised portion of state Route 99 was carrying 110,000 cars per day through the city.
Now, part of it has already been torn down and the rest will follow once the tunnel to replace it is completed. But before we say goodbye to a piece of Seattle's skyline, look back at the viaduct over the years, from before its inception to its demolition.
Caption: Alaskan Way prior to construction of of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Exact date unknown.
California's blackouts could make fighting climate change even harder
California's electric grid was experiencing rapid and unprecedented changes even before Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison began shutting off power to millions of people in a desperate scramble to prevent their transmission lines from sparking wildfires. Solar and wind power were booming. A helicopter drops water as the Getty Fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, in Los Angeles.
Seattle Times staff reporters. Today marks the first Monday commute during the two-week Alaskan Way Viaduct closure. Tunnel-boring machine Bertha, whose journey under the elevated structure at Yesler Way is the reason for the shutdown, pushed slowly to the west edge of the viaduct on Sunday.
Bertha the tunneling machine has made significant — and safe — progress in a critical phase of mining that took it directly beneath the elevated roadway.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, Aug. 19, 1948, less than five years before completion of the viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, Aug. 19, 1948.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The February 1950 photo caption read: Participants in city's condemnation proceedings for the Alaskan Way Viaduct examine model of the Aurora Avenue section of the project.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Feb. 7, 1950 photo caption read: City Engineer R. W. Finke, left, gives go-ahead, and power shovel digs first scoop of dirt preparatory for construction of first unit of Alaskan Way Viaduct near Western Avenue and Battery Street.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 1950 photo caption read: This aerial view shows the start of construction on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, being built to relieve Seattle's serious traffic congestion.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Jan. 28, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
An area where the Alaskan Way Viaduct now stands, April 25, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, April 26, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 26, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The May 1951 photo caption read: There's a real big show underway along the waterfront where the Alaskan Way Viaduct is being constructed, and these two 5-story-high cranes straddle railway switching tracks.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, May 24, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, June 25, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, Oct. 29, 1951.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The March 4, 1952 photo caption read: Casting concrete rails for guard fence. Work is done on job as construction advances.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The March 4, 1952 photo caption read: Rail traffic has been squeezed down to one track throughout construction period.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The March 1952 photo caption read: Looking north along the viaduct near Lenora Street where the lower deck carrying southbound traffic edges under the top northbound deck. Note the beauty that the giant concrete supports add to the viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Battery Street Tunnel under First Avenue North, March 10, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Looking north on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, March 11, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, March 11, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Looking toward Elliott Bay on Battery Street between Second and First Avenue, March 12, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, early 1950s. (Seattle Municipal Archives)
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct construction, early 1950s. (Seattle Municipal Archives)
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way Viaduct looking toward Elliott Bay from Second Avenue, March 12, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 4, 1953 photo caption read: Seafair Queen Iris Adams and Mayor Allan Pomeroy had something to laugh about Saturday as they bent every effort to cut the ribbon to open the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Opening ceremonies for a section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 4, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Opening ceremonies for a section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 4, 1953.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Traffic moves over the Alaskan Way Viaduct after opening ceremonies, Saturday, April 4, 1953. The view is to the south.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 6, 1953 photo caption read: The Alaskan Way Viaduct at 4:45 p.m. on first day of regular operation.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Oct. 5, 1953 photo caption read: This view of new subway south toward The Post-Intelligencer building shows retaining walls under construction on each side, the north portal of Battery Street subway and extent of excavation.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Aug. 17, 1956 photo caption read: Steel poles, used for new luminous lighting on Alaskan Way were manufactured by Pacific Car and Foundry Company's Renton plant.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Dec. 16, 1956 photo caption read: Here's how the extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct looks from street level.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The December 1956 photo caption read: Stretching southward in this view is the partially completed addition to the Alaskan Way Viaduct which will extend from the end of the present viaduct to Holgate Street.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The southern portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in the 1950s with the Smith Tower at upper left. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Feb. 17, 1959 caption reads: This is the scene where Olaf Edward Holman was killed yesterday while working on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Sept. 1959 photo caption read: Seafair Queen Diane Gray applies the scissors with gusto yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the Spokane Street extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. [Former Gov. Al Rosellini and then-Mayor Gordon Clinton are on the left and right, respectively.]
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Sept. 1959 photo caption read: A single lane of cars moves north on the Spokane Street extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct yesterday after dedication ceremonies.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
City Engineer W. E. Parker, right, stands beside damaged piling behind seawall along Alaskan Way, where teredos (wood-boring worms) ate into a number of pilings. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Feb. 29, 1952.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, March 2, 1950.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
From left: E.H. Lindstrom, city engineer, Robert Artelle, south district city engineer, James Hayward, transportation committee chairman, James Robertson, assistant city engineer. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
From left: E.H. Lindstrom, city engineer, Robert Artelle, south district city engineer, James Hayward, transportation committee chairman, James Robertson, assistant city engineer. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Feb. 1, 1960.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Seawall damage at Washington Street and Alaskan Way in Seattle, Jan. 5, 1986.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The April 26, 1951 photo caption read: Workmen on new multi-million dollar Alaskan Way Viaduct place steel stringers in railing molding, in preparation for pouring of concrete.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way near the viaduct. Exact date unknown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct is seen in the back of this picture from March 26, 1975.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Nov. 1961 photo caption read: The first cars leaving the viaduct via Seneca Street.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Feb. 1, 1960 photo caption read: Most motorists don't notice wires over high-speed freeways, such as this one over the new Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, August 9, 1971.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Jan. 8, 1962 photo caption read: Part of damage to the Alaskan Way Viaduct caused by the fall of part of the old Armory.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, July 15, 1982.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The August 14, 1977 photo caption read: 54,000 vehicles a day roar above the waterfront on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Nov. 26, 1983.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The July 27, 1977 photo caption read: Critics say the viaduct blocks waterfront development.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Readers in 1982 complained that cars were going 70 mph instead of the 50 mph speed limit.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Nov. 28, 1988 photo caption read: The Burlington Northern track will no longer be used by freight trains. All trains will be moved to the tunnel that runs under downtown Seattle.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Alaskan Way, Aug. 19, 1948.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Oct. 29, 1957 photo caption read: This shows a section of the Alaskan Way viaduct extension where work is progressing on the second deck.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Oct. 10, 1991 caption read: Officials say it would cost $250 million to update the 40-year-old Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The area that is now home to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Aug. 19, 1948.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way viaduct, curving southward along the waterfront from the Battery Street tunnel to the industrial area, Oct. 18, 1989.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Traffic going north on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Jan. 12, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Russ Morisch, 32, was homeless near the Viaduct on Christmas Day, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Scott McCleary, 54, lived in his car under the Viaduct on Christmas Day, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Construction workers, Sean Christy, left center in pit, John Ipsen, center in pit, and Paul Micenko, right, work the concrete on a new column foundation on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, April 14, 2008. The effort was the final phase of work to strengthen the column foundations between Columbia Street and Yesler Way.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Racers run along the viaduct during the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, June 21, 2008.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
An onramp to the Alaskan Way Viaduct at Columbia Street winds its way through downtown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A view of the Seneca Street offramp of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, July 24, 2006.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Night traffic on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Dec. 18, 2005.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Gov. Chris Gregoire uses a chart while Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles and King County Executive Ron Sims listen to options for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct during an Olympia news conference, March 14, 2007. That month, Seattle voters didn't favor a tunnel or an elevated replacement for the existing viaduct, complicating an already messy struggle between city and state leaders. The struggle continues.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A pedistrian walks under the Alaskan Way Viaduct toward Coleman Dock on Oct. 26, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Traffic travels along the lower-deck of the viaduct at the beginning of the afternoon commute, Oct. 23, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Crews installed temporary support structures below the lower deck of the Alaskan Way Viaduct between Columbia Street and Yesler Way, February 11, 2008.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
State Department of Transportation maintenance crews clean the viaduct, near Battery Street, Oct. 13, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bridge inspectors give the viaduct a semiannual inspection on Oct. 13, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A view looking south from Belltown, April 25, 2007.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, reflected in a waterfront mud puddle, on March 9, 2007. Seattle's Bank of America Tower and Smith Tower are prominent in the background.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A man walks below the Alaskan Way Viaduct, near South Atlantic Street, July 24, 2006.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Participants run south in the northbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct during the St. Patrick's Day Dash, March 16, 2008.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Oct. 19, 1989.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Oct. 13, 1996.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
An Alaskan Way Viaduct support column at South Washington Street leans outward and is secured with metal straps, April 1, 2001.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct as seen going west down Columbia Street, March 21, 2002.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The October 2009 photo caption read: Members of the Seattle City Council and Washington state legislators applaud as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Gov. Chris Gregoire sign a memorandum to replace the waterfront viaduct. A deep-bored tunnel is planned to replace the aging structure, a central issue in Seattle's upcoming mayoral election. Nickels, who was defeated in the primary, said some issues are worth losing an election over. "This is one of them," he said.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
The Alaskan Way Viaduct is shown during a biannual inspection on Oct. 24, 2009.
65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
From our first look at Bertha in 2012, to her latest stalls, we've watched the massive tunneling machine complete roughly 1,437 feet of the nearly two-mile tunnel. Click through here to see a timeline of Bertha's triumphs, fits and failures.
First glimpse:
December 2012 - Before we even saw the world's largest tunneling machine arrive on Seattle's shores, we got a look at her through her official Twitter account, @BerthaDigsSR99 (not to be confused with the multiple satirical Bertha accounts that have sprung up since her troubles began).
(Photo by Washington State Department of Transportation.)
‘Devil Winds’ Drive Southern California Fires
The downsloping gusts that begin inland and blow toward the ocean in autumn and winter bring with them warmth and dread in equal measure. They howl through the canyons of Santa Monica and whip the palm trees that line the streets of Los Angeles, driving up dust and fraying nerves. The winds, known as the Santa Anas, loom large over the collective psyche of Southern California. They have also been the defining antagonist in this season of fire, a sinister reminder that wind has the power to provoke fear and present danger in an instant.
“From elevated freeways to surface boulevards: neighborhood and housing price impacts in San Francisco” by Robert Cervero , et al. https Tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct and transforming Seattle ' s waterfront - Продолжительность: 6:29 wsdot 554 989 просмотров.
supervisor for the Seattle Department of Transportation. These changes apply seven days a week from Jan. To help with the viaduct closure, service to most stations will start at 6 a.m., two hours earlier than “It hasn’t been a big part of our message, because it’ s just a hard sell that time of the year .”
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha arrives:
April 2, 2013 - A ship arrives carrying the parts that would be reassembled to make Bertha. The plan to replace the failing Alaskan Way Viaduct was to dig a nearly two-mile tunnel beneath the city, a highly controversial choice to many critics, but the one chosen nonetheless.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha gets ready:
April 19, 2013 - Colorful bits of the Bertha SR 99 tunneling machine stand out against a gray sky during a guided tour of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement program's progress at the site of the drill's launch point. The 41 pieces that make up the drill were unloaded and stored in preparation for lowering them into the ground and starting the assembly process.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha is put together:
May 31, 2013- The cutter head of the Washington State Department of Transportation's Big Bertha Highway 99 tunnel boring machine is lowered into its launch pit on Friday, May 31, 2013. The machine was launched July 30, 2013 and was scheduled to emerge from the other end of the tunnel 14 months later.
Easy, Getty and Kincade fires are ravaging California. So how did wildfires get named?
Unlike hurricanes, wildfire names are created on the spot when the blaze begins. That's why we have the Kincade Fire, Getty Fire and the Easy FireBut where do these names come from?
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha starts digging:July 30, 2013 - The Washington State Department of Transportation posted this photo of Bertha beginning the nearly two-mile dig that will eventually replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct for state Route 99 traffic through downtown.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Progress:
Oct. 24, 2013 - By late October 2013, WSDOT had reported the tunnel machine Bertha had dug 370 feet of tunnel.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
And more progress:
Dec. 6, 2013 - The day before Bertha stopped tunneling, her Twitter account posted this photo, reporting the machine had cleared 1,000 feet of tunneling.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha gets stuck:
Dec. 7, 2013 - The contractor digging the tunnel for WSDOT, Seattle Tunnel Partners, "proactively" stopped tunneling after the machine encountered serious resistance. Bertha had been tunneling since July 30 and had made 1,000 feet the day before. In this photo, a drill rig begins the process of digging a hole so workers can figure out what blocked Bertha, the tunnel boring machine making its way under the Seattle waterfront. Photographed on Wednesday, December 11, 2013.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha comes up for air:March 19, 2013 - After workers discover damage to the seal system and other parts of Bertha, the contractor begins the process of hauling the cutterhead to the surface for what repairs.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha's parts emerge:
March 30, 2015 - Bertha's 2,000-ton, 57.5-foot cutterhead and drive unit make the slow, 120-foot upward journey from the pit to street level for the repairs and redesigns that would eventually allow digging to resume. By the time the cutterhead and drive unit came to the surface, crews had already removed three pieces of Bertha's exterior from the pit, the largest weighing 270 tons.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha is scheduled to get back to work:
July 17, 2015 - Just shy of two years after the world's largest tunnel boring machine began digging, WSDOT and Seattle Tunnel Partners announce that tunneling will resume in November 2015. The revised schedule puts the completion of the tunnel more than two years behind its original completion date, and critics start asking who will be on the hook for the obvious cost overruns. WSDOT maintains the contract with Seattle Tunnel Partners protects the state from any cost overruns.
Before tunneling resumes, it will be reported that Seattle Tunnel Partners' insurer has sued to avoid paying an estimated $143 million in cost overruns for the repairs to Bertha, and then WSDOT will sue the contractor to maintain their right to future claims.
In this photo, crews work on the final phases of repair and modifications to the cutterhead.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha goes back into the ground:
Aug. 24, 2015 - With all the above-ground work to repair Bertha complete, crews begin multiple crane operations to lower the cutter head back into the access pit, where it will then be reattached to the rest of the machine and tested before tunneling begins again. At this point, the contractor is still planning to start tunneling in late November.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Tunneling begins anew:Dec. 21, 2015 - More than two years after Bertha was halted in her tracks by a now unknown issue — and a month after tunneling was planned to resume — she starts moving once more. Though initial progress is slow, the contract, Seattle Tunnel Partners, reports that all systems look good.
In this WSDOT photo, the cutter head is rotated while crews continue working to fill in the access pit before Bertha moves forward.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Stalled again:
Jan. 12, 2016 - Work on the tunnel grinds to a halt as a barge hauling excavated dirt from the tunnel tips and spills into Elliott Bay before being cut loose and then smacking into two piers. Seattle Tunnel Partners reports that damage to the pier will have to be repaired and a substitute barge put in place before any digging can continue. Crews continue building tunnel rings for the moment.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
A sinkhole and the Governor stop Bertha:
Jan. 14, 2016 - While workers are figuring out solutions to the barge problem, a sinkhole about 35 feet long, 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep opens up just behind Bertha on Jan. 12. Seattle Tunnel Partners fills the hole with a concrete mixture and then reports the next day that the sinkhole isn't something to worry about. Gov. Jay Inslee doesn't buy it, though, and on Thursday that week orders work stopped until the contractor can report the cause of the sinkhole and show that it won't happen again, particularly under the viaduct or one of the waterfront's aging brick buildings.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha is back at it:
Feb. 23, 2016 -More than a month after the Governor shut down Bertha's operation, work is allowed to resume, initially for a test period, while a new plan was drafted to make sure no more sinkholes open up behind the massive machine. The machine tunneled successfully through a 160-foot test section and was allowed to continued forward. By this time, the project is at least 27 months behind schedule and lawsuits indicate added costs that tally over $143 million, though it's unclear who will ultimately pay those.
Explosive new wildfire drives thousands from homes near Los Angeles
The Maria fire ignited in Ventura County early Thursday night and raced westward, consuming 4,000 acres in just three hours.Justo and Bernadette Laos hug each other while looking through the charred remains of the home they rented that was destroyed by the Kincade Fire near Geyserville, on Oct. 31.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
And Bertha stops again:March 12, 2016 - Seattle Tunnel Partners bring Bertha to a halt once more, though this time it's for planned maintenance. The machine has cleared 1,560 feet of tunneling and is now parked at a concrete block called Safe Haven Three, where it will get a thorough refresh before taking off to begin tunneling under the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Tunneling resumes, traffic on the viaduct halts:
April 29, 2016 - After more than a month of maintenance and inspections at Safe Have Three, Bertha sets out once more on her mission to tunnel a highway beneath Seattle. Unfortunately for drivers above ground, though, since Bertha is now tunneling under the Alaskan Way Viaduct, WSDOT officials close that portion of state Route 99. The closure is expected to last about two weeks.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha breaks for 'high-pressure' maintenance:
June 28, 2016- With Bertha paused after more than 3,000 feet of tunnel completed, workers replace cutting tools and perform other maintenance in hyperbaric conditions on the face of the tunneling machine's cutter head. Workers will wind up doing maintenance for several weeks before they put the machine back to work.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
And...tunneling begins again:July 18, 2016 - After a few weeks of hyperbaric maintenance, Bertha once more resumes digging, this time on the other side of the viaduct.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha's latest schedule even further behind with more costs:July 21, 2016 - WSDOT officials head to Olympia to announce that the tunnel won't be open until early 2019, something around a year later than even the last schedule. But worse news for lawmakers was the fact that the state will need at least $224 million more to finish the project -- and that's if contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners loses its lawsuits and other claims to insurers totally more than $200 million. Otherwise, the state could wind up on the hook for even more. For the time being, the state hasn't allowed any official change orders (contract talk for adding costs), so they just need more money for their own employees to stay dedicated to the project.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha clears 4,000 feet, all seems well: Aug. 22, 2016 - As summer hums along, Bertha has been hard at work, passing the 4,000-foot mark before the end of August and nearing the halfway point in the 9,270-foot tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Even if the tunnel was originally scheduled to be open by year's end, the progress is on pace and WSDOT reports no problems along the way. Monitoring equipment shows little to no movement of the viaduct during the work and Bertha will continue to mine below First Avenue until Stewart Street, where the machine with move west and keep its northerly direction toward the planned end of the tunnel near Seattle Center.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha makes 5,000 feet, halfway finished:Oct. 3, 2016 - As Seattle heads into its rainiest winter ever, Bertha, far below ground level, his her halfway mark in tunneling. Crews continue stopping periodically for short maintenance breaks, but overall work continues at a pace that pleases contractors and WSDOT. On the north end of the tunnel, crews have readied the extraction pit where Bertha will land once she finishes the tunnel.
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65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha passes 1,000 rings, set to finish mid-2017: Dec. 13, 2016 -- Before Christmas, Bertha has made it to 1,000 rings, leaving just 426 left to build before she emerges at the north end of the tunnel. As fighting begins above ground over who will pay mounting costs that exceed the original contract for the tunnel, workers below ground steer the machine on a course toward completion without any issues, according to contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners. The project, perhaps surprisingly to its detractors, is moving along without fail.
65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway
Bertha breaks through, finishes tunneling:
April 4, 2017 - With no real hiccups in the last several months, Bertha breaks through the north end of the tunnel, finishing a dig that had been underway for nearly four years. Crews and officials are ecstatic and hug and celebrate a milestone in the work to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. But even with the tunnel bored, work will carry on for about two more years before drivers can take their first passes through the new tunnel, a privilege they'll have to pay for.
Pictured: Laborer Jake Chopic raised a celebratory fist in the air as he climbs out onto the cutter head of Bertha just after breaking through the north end of the tunnel, Tuesday, April 4, 2017.
106,000 still without power in wildfire-weary California; Maria Fire breaks out in Ventura County
At least 10 wildfires are burning in California, with the newest Maria Fire developing in Ventura County. Here's what to know.More than 106,000 people were without power Thursday evening because of an unrelenting series of planned outages aimed at limiting fire risk. Still, downed and sparking wires were suspected of igniting some of the blazes.
The viaduct is no more.
Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct was many things — beloved, hated, seismically unsound, embattled, short, a helluva view. And after 65 years, the final bits of it have been torn down.
In its wake it leaves a brand new tunnel, a brand new waterfront, and plenty of memories of driving on it and praying an earthquake doesn't strike. Still, Seattle wouldn't be who it is without that stretch of highway, which, in just six decades, left a bigger footprint than its few miles.
Coming off of a couple of decades devoted to keeping Seattle changing -- completing the Denny Regrade, the Elliott Bay Seawall and the Aurora Bridge, to name a few -- the city was enjoying a post-war boom thanks to the airplanes Boeing was building in what's now Sodo. In 1954, the Battery Street Tunnel opened to provide a link from the Aurora Avenue "speedway" to the newly-constructed viaduct.
The viaduct was initially built to protect what the city viewed as the real reason for the waterfront: shipping. A petition was circulated which asserted that using the waterfront as a traffic bypass would cause "irreparable damage to the city's maritime commerce." By lifting the traffic above Alaskan Way, the city seemed to resolve the traffic issue.
RELATED: Video: Are you going to miss that viaduct view?
And everyone was happy with that resolution until February 2001, when an earthquake hit. The city came out relatively unscathed, but the 6.8 magnitude quake has sunk sections of the viaduct several inches.
Engineers and crews who worked to stabilize the viaduct agreed that if the quake had lasted a few moments longer, there wouldn't be a viaduct left to rescue. And so the decision was made to replace the viaduct -- but not, at least immediately, how.
During the next decade, ideas were bandied about, and one of the most scrutinized public processes in Washington's history waged on; more than 90 options were ultimately studied, according to the state Department of Transportation. Tempers flared, political campaigns came and went. So did parts of the viaduct itself, which were updated while we all waited for the politicians to sort out the issues.
RELATED: DeMay: As the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes, so closes a chapter of Seattle history
This time the focus on the waterfront had more to do with visuals than shipping, which had decamped to other spots in the city. And so eventually, it came down to two options: A new viaduct, or a new tunnel to replace it.
And in 2009 the decision was finally made: then-Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill approving funding for a viaduct replacement. The bill provided up to $2.8 billion in state funding for the new tunnel boring project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Bertha ran into its fair share of trouble, taking much longer than initially forecasted, and giving the viaduct a bit of extra time to dazzle with its views and also frustrate with its traffic jams.
RELATED: A timeline of Bertha's triumphs, fits and failures:
It wouldn't be until April 4, 2017 that Bertha would break on through to the other side. From there construction on the tunnel got going in earnest, completing in March 2018. The tunnel opened in early 2019 — with a brief distraction from the Snowpocalypse.
From there it was a slow tear down over the course of the next few months, with the last bits of the Alaskan Way Viaduct coming down before 2019 was out. It's just one stop on Seattle's way to being a brave new world, full of new roads and new, but we'll always have a little bit of a soft spot for the old Viaduct.
106,000 still without power in wildfire-weary California; Maria Fire breaks out in Ventura County .
At least 10 wildfires are burning in California, with the newest Maria Fire developing in Ventura County. Here's what to know.More than 106,000 people were without power Thursday evening because of an unrelenting series of planned outages aimed at limiting fire risk. Still, downed and sparking wires were suspected of igniting some of the blazes.
Paige Thompson (above), 33, made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday and was ordered detained pending a hearing on Aug. 1, the Justice Department said. 
Once more, families will gather at ground zero, where nearly 3,000 people died on that bright September morning. 
![Slide 37 of 215: The Sept. 1959 photo caption read: Seafair Queen Diane Gray applies the scissors with gusto yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the Spokane Street extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. [Former Gov. Al Rosellini and then-Mayor Gordon Clinton are on the left and right, respectively.]](/upload/images/real/2019/09/24/slide-37-of-215-the-sept-1959-photo-caption-read-seafair-queen-diane-gray-applies-the-scissors-with-_748660_.jpg?content=1 "65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway - P-I File")
Deputies are investigating the discovery of a body along the North Freeway feeder road Wednesday morning. The body was found along the northbound feeder road just north of North Vista, near FM 1960, according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office. Investigators are still working to determine how the person died, Constable Mark Herman said.Photos from the scene show a small backhoe on the side of the feeder road and several squad cars.As of 9:15 a.m., all northbound feeder lanes and the FM 1960 exit ramp are closed as detectives work.Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. 
California's electric grid was experiencing rapid and unprecedented changes even before Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison began shutting off power to millions of people in a desperate scramble to prevent their transmission lines from sparking wildfires. Solar and wind power were booming. A helicopter drops water as the Getty Fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, in Los Angeles. 
![Slide 140 of 215: The Sept. 1959 photo caption read: Seafair Queen Diane Gray applies the scissors with gusto yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the Spokane Street extension of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. [Former Gov. Al Rosellini and then-Mayor Gordon Clinton are on the left and right, respectively.]](/upload/images/real/2019/09/24/slide-140-of-215-the-sept-1959-photo-caption-read-seafair-queen-diane-gray-applies-the-scissors-with_576262_.jpg?content=1 "65 years of the Viaduct: Remembering Seattle's most contested elevated freeway - P-I File")
The downsloping gusts that begin inland and blow toward the ocean in autumn and winter bring with them warmth and dread in equal measure. They howl through the canyons of Santa Monica and whip the palm trees that line the streets of Los Angeles, driving up dust and fraying nerves. The winds, known as the Santa Anas, loom large over the collective psyche of Southern California. They have also been the defining antagonist in this season of fire, a sinister reminder that wind has the power to provoke fear and present danger in an instant. 
Unlike hurricanes, wildfire names are created on the spot when the blaze begins. That's why we have the Kincade Fire, Getty Fire and the Easy FireBut where do these names come from? 
The Maria fire ignited in Ventura County early Thursday night and raced westward, consuming 4,000 acres in just three hours.Justo and Bernadette Laos hug each other while looking through the charred remains of the home they rented that was destroyed by the Kincade Fire near Geyserville, on Oct. 31. 
At least 10 wildfires are burning in California, with the newest Maria Fire developing in Ventura County. Here's what to know.More than 106,000 people were without power Thursday evening because of an unrelenting series of planned outages aimed at limiting fire risk. Still, downed and sparking wires were suspected of igniting some of the blazes. 
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