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Alaskan Way Viaduct - Semiannual Inspection Results

WSDOT crews inspect the viaduct.Immediately after the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, we made repairs to keep the Alaskan Way Viaduct safe and functional, and began semiannual inspections to closely monitor cracks, structural movement and foundation integrity.

The viaduct's south end was demolished in fall 2011, but the downtown waterfront section is scheduled to remain open to traffic until the SR 99 tunnel opens in late 2015.

Below is a summary of inspections since 2001. Learn more about WSDOT's bridge safety efforts.

Inspection dateResults / actions
March 2012Survey crews note some minor settlement near Seneca Street (about 7/16 of an inch) and Yesler Way (about 3/16 of an inch). New cracking was also identified near the Seneca Street off-ramp. Crews found no new structural damage.
January 2012No new structural damage and no change in the inspected cracks. Survey crews note some minor settlement (about 1/16 of an inch) at a column between Yesler Way and Columbia Street, bringing the total amount of settlement in this area to approximately 1 and 10/16 inches.
October 2011    No new structural damage and no change in the inspected cracks. Survey crews note some minor settlement (about 3/16 of an inch) near Columbia Street.
March 2011Survey data reveals no new settlement or structural damage.
January 2011No new structural damage and no change in the inspected cracks. Survey crews note some minor settlement (about 1/16 of an inch) at a column between Yesler Way and Columbia Street, bringing the total amount of settlement in this area to approximately 1 and 9/16 inches.
October 2010No new structural damage and no change in the inspected cracks. Survey crews note some minor settlement (about 1/2 of an inch) at a column near Columbia Street, bringing the total amount of settlement in this area to approximately 1 and 7/16 inches.
July 2010No new structural damage and no change in the inspected cracks. Survey crews note some minor settlement (about 1/8 of an inch) at a column between Yesler Way and South Washington Street, bringing the total amount of settlement in this area to approximately 5/8 inches.
March 2010Inspection crews find no new settlement or structural damage.
January 2010No new structural damage and no change in the inspected cracks, but survey crews note some gradual and minor settlement (less than 1/8 of an inch) at a column near South Washington Street.
October 2009Crews find no additional settlement and no new structural damage.
June 2009Crews detect no additional settlement and find no change in the inspected crack monitors.
March 2009New settlement near Seneca Street was approximately 1/4 of an inch, bringing total settlement in this area to 1-5/8 inches since the Nisqually earthquake. No structural damage or new cracks were found. Inspection photos are available on Flickr.

In April 2008, four column foundations between Columbia Street and Yesler Way were strengthened after the columns had settled approximately 5-1/2 inches since the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. One year later, the columns are more stable, and no new settlement was detected in this area.

All sprinklers in the Battery Street Tunnel are functioning properly, and only a few heat detection devices need repairs.
January 2009Crews observe no additional settlement or changes in condition.
October 2008Crews find no new settlement or structural damage.
June 2008Inspection results show no new structural damage or additional settlement of the columns between Columbia Street and Yesler Way. An additional 1/8 inch of settlement occurred during the repair work to strengthen the column foundations in that area, but measurements show that this section of the viaduct has now stabilized.
March 2008The section of the viaduct between Columbia Street and Yesler Way settled another 3/8 of an inch, bringing the total amount of settlement to approximately 5-1/2 inches. Columns continue to settle incrementally in this area, where repairs are nearly complete to strengthen several column foundations. No new structural damage was caused by the additional settlement. View photos of this inspection and the public tour held during inspection weekend.
January 2008The quarterly inspection reveals that the viaduct settled approximately 1/8 of an inch where foundation strengthening work is taking place between Columbia Street and Yesler Way. No new structural damage was caused by the additional settlement.
October 2007No additional settlement and no new structural damage are detected for the section of the viaduct between Columbia Street and Yelser Way. Work begins this month to strengthen four column foundations in this area.
June 2007The viaduct settled an additional ΒΌ of an inch, for a total of approximately five inches, in the area between Columbia Street and Yesler Way.
March 2007Inspection results indicate no additional settlement. Due to half an inch of settlement at two piers found during the two previous inspections, we move forward with repairs between Columbia Street and Yesler Way.
October 2006An additional 1/4 of an inch of settlement occurred on the viaduct between Columbia Street and Yesler Way. This area has settled a total of 4-3/4 inches since we began measuring in 2001.
March 2006The viaduct section between Columbia Street and Yesler Way settled an additional 3/8 of an inch. This area has settled a total of 4-1/2 inches since we began measuring in 2001.
October 2005No new settlement occurred on the viaduct. A crack that we have been monitoring grew from 4 mm to 7 mm. The crack was on a structure near Columbia and Yesler streets, on a joint in the southbound driving lane. In November 2005 WSDOT crews install a steel column to support the damaged beam and distribute the weight through the column, footing and joint.
March 2005Two columns across from Colman Dock between Columbia Street and Yesler Way settled 1/4 inches.
September 2004No measurable settlement.
March 2004No measurable settlement across from Colman Dock. Very minimal settlement in south sections near South Washington Street.
October 2003The viaduct section across from Colman Dock settled an additional 1-1.2 inches (east and west sides) since March 2003 inspection. Continued minimal settlement in south viaduct sections near South Washington Street.
March 2003 Crews discover that the viaduct section across from Colman Dock settled 1/2 inches on the east side and 2 inches on the west side since the last inspection. Measurements show continued minimal settlement in south viaduct sections near South Washington Street.
November 2002Crews discover that the viaduct section across from Colman Dock settled 1/2 inches on the east side and 1.2 inches on the west side. Minimal settlement - fractions of an inch - found in south viaduct sections near South Washington Street.
February-April 2001WSDOT makes $3.5 million in post-Nisqually earthquake repairs.