The Monday morning commute in Seattle was congested but moving slowly as drivers dealt with "Viadoom," the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, one of the city's main north-south highways.
Transportation Department spokeswoman Kris Olsen says the loss of the viaduct put pressure on the entire freeway system in the Seattle area. She says some drivers may have delayed their commute into the 8 o'clock hour.
The backups were especially noticeable for West Seattle drivers who saw a long line of taillights when they pulled onto the West Seattle Bridge in the 7 a.m. hour. Buses were full, and other commuters rode bikes or took the water taxi across Elliott Bay.
The viaduct section of Highway 99 carried 110,000 vehicles a day. The nine-day closure began Friday for partial demolition. The work is part of the $3.2 billion project to replace the aging elevated highway with a tunnel under downtown Seattle.
