Washington Roads - WA 99/old US 99 - N. of Alaskan Way
, former US 99 - N. of Alaskan Way
The Alaskan Way viaduct ends where the Battery Street Tunnel begins. Click to drive through it and magically reappear north of downtown Seattle.
Now click to drive back through the tunnel and magically reappear on the Alaskan Way viaduct.
If you prefer your driving discrete instead of continuous, this is northbound in stopped traffic. Notice daylight peeking through top left of the last photo as we curve into Aurora Ave.
We bailed from WA 99 and ended up on Mercer Street. These photos head west through reconstruction of Mercer in October 2014 as part of the general WA 99 construction, replacing the WA 99 overpass and widening Mercer to 3 lanes each way with a turn lane. (It was 4 lanes with a narrow median divided under the underpass.) By this time, the direct WA 99 NB ramp to Mercer St. was closed but not removed. It's since been replaced by a ramp to Dexter Ave. at Republican St. just to the south.
Mercer St. EB before and after the overpass.
Aurora Avenue only exists as Aurora Avenue N, and before construction, it only existed independently of WA 99 NB for about a block. In that block, you got the arrow on the street sign, funky-lettered prohibition sign, and way-cool original I-5 shield (which could also be for WA 99 traffic emerging from the tunnel). With construction complete, the Battery St. Tunnel is gone, replaced by the general WA 99 tunnel. The old tunnel came up at Denny Way, but the new one goes three blocks farther to Harrison St., just shy of Mercer. This block is now "Borealis Ave." (SO CLEVER) followed by a few blocks of 7th Ave. extended over the old WA 99 mainline.
The Battery Street Tunnel was completed in 1952 and this sign gantry is clearly that old. The signs are newer, but probably date to the late 1970s or early 1980s. You'll see the back of it exiting the tunnel and the front of it SB upon entry.
A little before the Denny Way exit. Seattle Center is the place with the Space Needle, not downtown.
Westlake Ave. heading west under the Aurora Bridge, WA 99 over the west end of Lake Union.
One from N. 34th St. heading EB on the north side of the lake.
I tried to capture the odd reverse-color NB shield, but my camera was only interested in the Woodland Park pedestrian overpasses.
N. 63rd St. burrows east under WA 99 to get around Green Lake at the north end of Woodland Park.
This sign repeats over the bus lane on the right. I think it's warning that SB cars may be turning left through stopped traffic in the other NB lanes, so buses should go slowly enough to spot them. Or perhaps it's giving two options to pass a Scandinavian flag. Let's just say the MUTCD isn't knocking down the door to add this sign.
NB at 125th St. and then 130th St. You can see where the old-font TURN RIGHT was patched over for the bus message in both signs.
Seattle begins at N. 145th St. (WA 523) heading SB. What's an arterial? Do you risk guessing?
WA 99 crosses into Snohomish County right at N. 205th St., which is 244th St. S in the new county. That's not actually WA 104, although turning right will soon lead to it.
One NB and two SB signs at the partial WA 99/104 interchange just inside Snohomish Co. Like the NB side, SB movements to/from the west are accomplished via side streets, anything from here up to 228th St.
WA 99 is about to end on the south side of Everett. Follow old US 99 from here via the medium-sized link below.
, former US 99 - N. of Alaskan Way
