The long-awaited tolling of the new Highway 99 tunnel, which replaced the Alaskan Way Viaduct earlier this year, starts today.
"Whether you drive Highway 99 or not, the tunnel tolls starting Nov. 9 will disrupt your travel in downtown Seattle through higher costs, slower trips or more aggravation," reports Mike Lindblom.
As documented by Irvin Dawid for Planetizen in October, the tunnel tolls are a long-time coming after the tunnel opened to the public in February, and the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and its former 100,000 daily car trips closed.
According to Lindblom, local commuters and residents are anticipating traffic flooding local streets to avoid the tolls. So far, the demise of the Alaskan Way Viaduct has been cited as an example of the ability of commuters to reroute without inducing gridlock.
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