I mentioned the Alaskan Way Viaduct a couple days ago. And that it's set to be replaced by a tunnel before Mother Nature destroys it with an earthquake.I did not know the sea wall also needs fixing. I did not know there was a sea wall.
Something about a big tunnel, next to saltwater, in a town that regularly gets the shakes, seems counter-intuitive to me.
Supposedly the other big tunnel that runs under Seattle, that being the combo bus/rail tunnel, is designed to make it through a very strong earthquake. I would not want to be in the Seattle bus tunnel or any of its stations during a quake.
Seems to me Seattle is really pushing its luck with this $4.2 billion tunnel/viaduct replacement project. The viaduct won't come down until the tunnel is finished. What happens if the Big One quakes during the construction phase?
This morning in the Seattle P-I, online, I watched a YouTube video of a simulation of what would happen to the sea wall, the viaduct and the waterfront if another big quake strikes, as strong as the last big one, known as the Nisqually Earthquake, with an epicenter 30 miles closer to Seattle and lasting twice as long as the 15 second Nisqually Earthquake.
The video gives you a good look at the Seattle waterfront and a real good simulation of what an earthquake might do....
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