Bay Freeway (Seattle)

The Bay Freeway, also referred to as the Mercer Street Connection, was a proposed elevated freeway in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The 0.7-mile-long (1.1 km) freeway would have run parallel to a section of Mercer Street between Interstate 5 (I-5) and Aurora Avenue North at the Seattle Center.

For the freeway in Milwaukee, see Bay Freeway (Milwaukee).

Bay Freeway

Mercer Street Connection
Route information
Length0.7 mi[1] (1,100 m)
HistoryCanceled in 1972[2]
Major junctions
West end SR 99 in Seattle
East end I-5 in Seattle
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
Highway system

Planning for the freeway began in 1954, with the proposal for a freeway from Elliott Bay to the Central Freeway, later I-5, via Broad and Mercer streets added to the city's comprehensive plan in 1957. Funded by a bond measure passed by Seattle voters in 1960, plans were drawn for the newly renamed Bay Freeway to serve a multi-purpose stadium at the Seattle Center via an elevated structure.

Citizen groups voiced their opposition to the project at public hearings in 1967, forcing the Seattle Engineering Department to consider other designs. After determining that a cut-and-cover tunnel would not be feasible, a second series of public hearings to discuss the impact of an elevated option were held in 1970, leading to widespread controversy and a civil suit launched in opposition to the freeway. The lawsuit ended in November 1971, with a King County Superior Court judge ruling that a major deviation from the voter-approved 1960 plan occurred, forcing a referendum to be held on whether to continue the project.

On February 8, 1972, the Bay Freeway project was rejected by a 10,000-vote margin in a municipal referendum, alongside the repeal of the R.H. Thomson Expressway. Mercer Street would later undergo several projects that attempted to provide congestion relief promised by the rejected freeway, culminating in the Mercer Corridor Project in 2012, which widened the street into a boulevard.

Route description
I-5's interchange with Mercer Street, the proposed eastern terminus of the Bay Freeway, under construction in 1962

The 0.7-mile-long (1.1 km) Bay Freeway,[1] as proposed in 1972,[3] would have been a six-lane elevated freeway on a curved box-beam bridge, measuring 180 feet (55 m) at its widest point. The freeway would have begun at the Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne, as through lanes for Broad Street under Aurora Avenue North. The roadway would have immediately merged with ramps connecting to the Roy and Mercer couplet and to a parking garage for a multipurpose domed stadium, later relocated and built south of Downtown in 1976,[4] to form the Bay Freeway. The lanes then would have then turned southeastward next to a park on Lake Union, passing only 16 feet (5 m) over Westlake Avenue North and 25 feet (8 m) over Fairview Avenue North, before splitting into ramps at an interchange with I-5.[5] Valley Street, located 175 feet (53 m) north of the planned right-of-way, was to be moved under the Bay Freeway structure and replaced with additional park space.[3][6][7]

Earlier plans called for an extension traveling southwest on Broad Street through Belltown, including a tunnel between 5th Avenue and Denny Way, to the proposed Northwest Expressway and an extension of the existing Alaskan Way Viaduct on the Elliott Bay waterfront.[1] The extension was deferred in 1969,[6] but remained a "possible future plan" until the entire project was canceled.[7]

History

Mercer Street expansion
External image
image icon Plan drawing of the Mercer Street Connection, as proposed in 1960. (Seattle Municipal Archives)

The City of Seattle began planning for the Bay Freeway in 1954,[8] with planning studies determining that Broad and Mercer streets should become the northern east–west link of the proposed Downtown freeway system.[9] The Seattle City Council adopted the city's comprehensive plan in 1957, proposing a "major highway" in the vicinity of Broad and Mercer streets from the Northwest Expressway along Elliott Bay to the Central Freeway at the foot of Capitol Hill.[10] In anticipation of the Bay Freeway, underpasses of Aurora Avenue North on Broad and Mercer streets were completed in July 1958, using funds from a 1954 bond issue for the construction of arterial roadways.[11][12] A special municipal election concerning a $26.6 million bond measure (equivalent to $189 million in 2021 dollars)[13] for traffic improvement was held on March 8, 1960,[14] passed by 71,000 of 109,000 voters in King County.[15] The funds, matched by $31 million (equivalent to $221 million in 2021 dollars)[13] from the State of Washington and federal government, were distributed to 12 projects from the Comprehensive Plan of 1957, including $1.9 million (equivalent to $13.5 million in 2021 dollars)[13] for the "Mercer Street Connection" between Aurora Avenue and the Central Freeway.[16][17]

The Century 21 Exposition was hosted at the Seattle Center grounds from April to October 1962, generating heavy traffic equivalent to rush hour loads on Mercer Street, where a city-owned, 1,500-stall parking garage was located.[18] The use of Mercer Street as one of the primary routes to the fairgrounds and its selection as one of the sites for a proposed multi-purpose stadium convinced city officials that the construction of the Bay Freeway was a necessity.[19][20] The Mercer exit on I-5 was partially opened in November 1963, with the northbound ramps open to traffic and the southbound ramps remaining closed until 1968.[21][22][23] A design team led by Perry Johanson was formed in 1966 for the Bay Freeway project, intending to blend the freeway with its surroundings and encourage mixed-use development to lower its impact on the South Lake Union neighborhood.[19] The first public hearing on the project was held by the Seattle City Council on February 17, 1967, where City Engineer Roy Morse said that the "Mercer mess" would be solved with the opening of the Bay Freeway in 1969.[24] The three proposed elevated alternatives were criticized by the public and local architects Ibsen Nelsen and Victor Steinbrueck for blocking views of Lake Union, forcing Morse to reconsider subsurface designs despite his declaration that "a depressed roadway with the freeway would require excessively steep traffic grades".[25]

Freeway proposals
A map of the elevated option for the Bay Freeway, subject to public hearings in 1970

The project was officially designated the "Bay Freeway" by the Seattle City Council on April 12, 1967, as part of an ordinance that also renamed part of State Route 99 to the Alaskan Freeway and officially named the proposed R.H. Thomson Expressway as the Thomson Freeway.[26][27] During the second public hearing, held on June 23, the city council endorsed the $5 million (equivalent to $31.4 million in 2021 dollars)[13] elevated option for the Bay Freeway amid appeals from local architects and the Citizens Planning Council.[28][29] Among the 16 proposals considered, a cut and cover tunnel was rejected because of its $16 million cost (equivalent to $101 million in 2021 dollars),[13] steep grades and larger disruption of local businesses and railroads.[30] The Seattle Center was selected as the preferred site of the multi-purpose domed stadium in 1968, assuming that the Bay Freeway was built to prevent event congestion, forcing the project to be redesigned for the next two years.[19][31]

The design report for the Bay Freeway project was published on February 10, 1970, and was subsequently distributed to the project. The report featured a new design for the freeway, including ramps to a parking garage serving the domed stadium and aesthetic standards meant to complement the existing Seattle Center.[7][19] Five additional public hearings were held by the Seattle City Council in 1970, as support for the R.H. Thomson Expressway and other proposed freeways were the subject of highway revolts similar to those in other American cities.[3] During the April hearing, former State Department of Highways director Charles Prahl spoke out against the Bay Freeway and predicted that it would cause traffic to back up onto I-5 during rush hour.[32] Voters rejected a Forward Thrust initiative that would have built the proposed domed stadium at the Seattle Center on May 19, removing one of the main reasons to build the freeway and forcing the city council to consider scaling down the proposal.[33][34] The June hearing resulted in the removal of the R.H. Thomson Freeway from the comprehensive plan as well as the widening of the Bay Freeway to six lanes to support an expected 2,610 drivers during rush hour.[35]

The city council approved $28 million (equivalent to $153 million in 2021 dollars)[13] for the Bay Freeway proposal, to be matched by an additional $28 million from the federal government, by a 5–3 vote on December 21, 1970.[36][37] Right of way acquisition began the following March, with $6 million (equivalent to $32.8 million in 2021 dollars)[13] appropriated to purchase and condemn properties on seven blocks between Mercer and Valley streets.[38][39]

Civil suit and special election
A model of the elevated Bay Freeway option produced for a public hearing

The 6-lane proposal caused several opposition groups, led by the Citizens Against R.H. Thomson (CARHT), to launch a civil suit to halt further planning for the Bay Freeway. The two citizens groups opposed what they claimed was improper planning and financing, described as "a series of shortcut procedures and hearings to give the design rubber-stamp approval", and that the project did not conform to the voter-approved 1960 proposal for a "Mercer Street Connection".[40] CARHT was named the plaintiff in the case, using funds largely from an anonymous single donor that were originally meant for opposing the R.H. Thomson Expressway.[41] On November 3, 1971, King County Superior Court Judge Solie M. Ringold ruled in favor of the opposition and prohibited the city from moving forward with the Bay Freeway project, citing that it had deviated significantly from the voter-approved 1960 proposal; the estimated cost of the project rose to $28 million (equivalent to $146 million in 2021 dollars),[13] a seven-fold increase from 1960's figures. The city was allowed to reconsider plans and submit a new proposal for voter approval.[36][42] The Council Committee of the Whole unanimously voted the following month to hold a special referendum seeking approval of the Bay Freeway, as well as endorsement of the city council's decision to cancel the R.H. Thomson Expressway, scheduled for February 8, 1972.[43][44]

The final environmental impact statement for the project was published by the City of Seattle Department of Engineering on January 24, 1972, two weeks before the election. It included three alternatives, all elevated between Valley and Mercer streets from Aurora Avenue to I-5. Construction would begin the following spring, with a completion date in early 1975. A rapid transit alternative was deemed "not probable in the near future" for the corridor, though express bus service was considered. A depressed roadway was rejected outright, as it could only achieve a grade of 6% at 3,000 feet (914.40 m), required a larger amount of right-of-way acquisition and relocation of utilities, and it was located below the water table, making it too expensive to be feasible.[3]

Referendum 1, which sought approval of the Bay Freeway, was rejected by a margin of 52,748 to 42,502 on February 8, 1972, effectively canceling the project.[2][45] In the aftermath of the vote, opponents of the project urged the city council to look into alternate solutions for the "Mercer Street mess".[46]

The Seattle City Council officially terminated the Bay Freeway project by passing an ordinance on May 1, 1972, to halt condemnation proceedings related to properties in the freeway's proposed corridor.[47]

Aftermath and subsequent proposals
Westbound Mercer Street, viewed from near the I-5 interchange, after its reconfiguration for two-way traffic in 2012

As a result of the vote in February 1972, the State Highway Department transferred $5.7 million (equivalent to $28.4 million in 2021 dollars)[13] in trust funds meant for the Bay Freeway to expanding U.S. Route 195 between Spokane and Pullman in Eastern Washington. State Highway Director George H. Andrews warned that the dual cancelation of the Bay Freeway and R.H. Thomson Expressway, the latter having been defeated on the same day,[2] would overload I-5 far beyond its design capacity, particularly in serving freight traffic near the Industrial District.[48][49] Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman predicted that congestion on Mercer Street would continue to worsen, stating that "there is no real alternative to the Bay Freeway", criticizing the rejection as a part of a "nationwide reaction to freeways and concrete".[50]

Mercer Street had previously been split into a couplet, with westbound traffic diverted to Valley Street one block north, as a temporary solution to Seattle Center congestion in 1968.[51] Between then and 1990, the city of Seattle has had 58 studies proposing various methods of reducing congestion on Mercer Street, all of them rejected by the Seattle City Council.[52] Among the most notable proposals include a four-block, $100 million tunnel (equivalent to $193 million in 2021 dollars)[13] that was supported by Mayor Charles Royer in the late 1980s,[53][54] and the "Broad Street Throughway" plan to lower Broad and Mercer streets and add a park lid at the south end of Lake Union.[55] The failed Seattle Commons levy, which proposed building a 61-acre (0.25 km2) urban park in the South Lake Union neighborhood in 1995, included plans for a below-grade freeway along Mercer Street estimated to cost $93.8 million (equivalent to $155 million in 2021 dollars).[13][56][57]

The Seattle Department of Transportation secured $190.5 million in early 2010 to fund its "Mercer Corridor Project", which proposed improving traffic flow by restoring westbound lanes on Mercer Street.[58][59] A groundbreaking ceremony was held the following September, with construction on the project starting shortly thereafter, hoping to reduce congestion on Mercer Street.[60] After two years of construction, the expanded six-lane Mercer Street opened to traffic on August 27, 2012, allowing for two-way traffic between Dexter Avenue North and I-5 to be carried by Mercer Street for the first time in 44 years.[51][61] The two-way segment was extended west to 9th Avenue North on May 30, 2014, removing the final section of one-way traffic on Mercer Street,[62] while also permanently closing Broad Street in preparation for the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel project.[63]

Exit list

This list reflects the final incarnation of the Bay Freeway, as proposed before the 1972 referendum.[3][5] The entire highway was in Seattle, King County.

mi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
0.00.0Roy Street, Mercer StreetEastbound entrance and westbound exit; continues as Broad Street
SR 99 (Aurora Avenue North)Westbound exit only
0.71.1 I-5
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. Suffia, David (November 16, 1971). "The Bay Freeway: What, where and why". The Seattle Times. p. A12.
  2. Crowley, Walt; Oldham, Kit (March 19, 2001). "Seattle voters scrap proposed Bay Freeway and R. H. Thomson Expressway on February 8, 1972". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  3. Gulino, Robert J. (February 3, 1972). "Official Publication of the Bay Freeway Final Environmental Statement". The Seattle Times. pp. B6–B8. ISSN 0745-9696.
  4. MacIntosh, Heather (March 1, 2000). "Kingdome: The Controversial Birth of a Seattle Icon (1959–1976)". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  5. City of Seattle Engineering Department (April 8, 1970). "Bay Freeway: Questions & Answers". The Seattle Times. p. D7. Retrieved March 22, 2015 – via Seattle Municipal Archives.
  6. Lane, Bob (December 14, 1969). "The Bay Freeway...It's Unlike Any Other". The Seattle Times. p. D1.
  7. City of Seattle Engineering Department (February 10, 1970). Bay Freeway: Design Report 1. Seattle, Washington: City of Seattle. OCLC 13222564.
  8. Gilmore, Susan (August 24, 2003). "Bumper to Bumper: Some freeway plans never went anywhere". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  9. Morse, Roy W. (November 2, 1970). "840 Legal Notices: Findings of the City Council of the City of Seattle adopted by Ordinance 99377". The Seattle Times. p. C18.
  10. Willix, Douglas (August 25, 1957). "Seattle's Plan For Tomorrow". The Seattle Sunday Times Magazine. pp. 12–13.
  11. "Mercer Street Underpass To Open Monday". The Seattle Times. July 3, 1958. p. 3.
  12. "Broad St. Underpass Opened". The Seattle Times. July 27, 1958. p. 14.
  13. Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved January 1, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  14. Seattle City Council (December 14, 1959). "City of Seattle Ordinance 88825". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  15. "Mrs. Edwards Gains Most In Official Tally". The Seattle Daily Times. March 19, 1960. p. 4.
  16. "Arterial, Park Bonds Are Vital Issues". The Seattle Times. March 6, 1960. p. 22.
  17. City of Seattle (March 7, 1960). "Proposition 1 is Key to 6-Year Traffic Improvement Program". The Seattle Daily Times. pp. C2–C3.
  18. "Century 21 World's Fair". Seattle Municipal Archives. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  19. Carroll, Charles M. (March 25, 1970). "Bay Freeway: Progress Report to the Citizens". The Seattle Times. p. E16.
  20. "Traffic Routes for Visitors To World's Fair Explained". The Seattle Times. March 8, 1962. p. 3.
  21. "Mercer Street Access Gets Light Traffic". The Seattle Times. November 14, 1963. p. 23.
  22. Barr, Robert A. (January 10, 1965). "Tunnels To Nowhere: Freeway May Catch Up to Interchanges In 1 to 6 Years". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
  23. "New Entry, Exit Open On Freeway". The Seattle Times. March 5, 1968. p. 52.
  24. Barr, Robert A. (February 15, 1967). "'Mercer Mess' End Forecast By Early 1969". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
  25. Willix, Douglas (February 17, 1967). "Criticism of Lake Union High Viaduct Heard by Council". The Seattle Times. p. 3.
  26. Seattle City Council (April 12, 1967). "City of Seattle Ordinance 95703". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  27. "Mayor Asks Council to Seek Federal Aid for Project". The Seattle Times. April 11, 1967. p. 33.
  28. Seattle City Council (July 3, 1967). "City of Seattle Resolution 21101". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  29. "Protests Fail to Stop Approval Of Viaduct Plan for Freeway". The Seattle Times. June 24, 1967. p. 13.
  30. Barr, Robert A. (June 22, 1967). "'Bay Freeway': Underground Route Would Triple Cost". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
  31. Bergsman, Jerry (November 15, 1968). "Multipurpose Stadium: Center Best Site, Says Report". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
  32. "Ex-Highway Head Criticizes Bay Freeway". The Seattle Times. April 18, 1970. p. A12.
  33. Suffia, David (May 21, 1970). "Scaling Down of Bay Freeway Plans Probable, Says Council". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
  34. "City Told Of Need For Bay Freeway". The Seattle Times. May 25, 1970. p. B6.
  35. "City Hall: Thomson Parkway Dead...Bay Freeway Goes on as 6 Lanes". The Seattle Times. June 2, 1970. p. A8.
  36. Bergsman, Jerry (December 22, 1970). "Council approves Bay Freeway". The Seattle Times. p. A16.
  37. Fiset, Louis (March 31, 2001). "Seattle City Council approves Bay Freeway plans in November 1970". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  38. "Funds are voted for freeway right-of-way". The Seattle Times. November 3, 1970. p. A11.
  39. Seattle City Council (March 19, 1971). "City of Seattle Ordinance 99739". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  40. "Bay Freeway plans, financing challenged". The Seattle Times. September 17, 1970. p. D4.
  41. Johnson, Margaret Connon (July 1979). The Montlake Community and the R.H. Thomson Expressway: A Preliminary Case Study of Successful Freeway Fight (PDF). Seattle, Washington: Seattle University Institute of Public Service. p. 47. OCLC 10004035. Retrieved March 22, 2015 – via Institute of Education Sciences.
  42. "Bay Freeway voided; judge cites changes". The Seattle Times. November 3, 1971. p. E12.
  43. Seattle City Council (December 21, 1971). "City of Seattle Ordinance 100539". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  44. Sperry, Sam R. (November 23, 1971). "Bay Freeway to stay alive?". The Seattle Times. p. A14.
  45. "Freeways rejected: Absentees to decide Seattle school levy". The Seattle Times. February 9, 1972. p. A1.
  46. Gilje, Shelby (February 9, 1972). "Bay Freeway dead, gone". The Seattle Times. p. B2.
  47. Seattle City Council (May 3, 1972). "City of Seattle Ordinance 100956". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  48. Barr, Robert A. (February 9, 1972). "Bay Freeway fund lost to area". The Seattle Times. p. B3.
  49. "Bay Freeway Defeat to Aid Spokane Area". Spokane Daily Chronicle. February 9, 1972. p. 1. OCLC 14374699. Retrieved March 22, 2015 – via Google News Archive.
  50. "City Hall: Worse traffic predicted in Mercer". The Seattle Times. February 10, 1972. p. A9.
  51. Lindblom, Mike (August 22, 2012). "Mercer gets 6 lanes, two-way traffic Monday". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  52. Nelson, Robert T. (March 5, 1990). "'Mercer Mess': City trying again". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  53. Schaefer, David (December 31, 1985). "Mercer Street tunnel endorsed by Royer". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Retrieved March 22, 2015 – via NewsBank.
  54. Nelson, Robert T. (June 20, 1989). "Council votes not to study 'Mercer Mess' - Members make u-turn, reject 2 proposals". The Seattle Times. p. B2. Retrieved March 22, 2015 – via NewsBank.
  55. Schumacher, Elouise (January 10, 1989). "Another plan to clean up Mercer Mess - Broad St. 'throughway' proposed". The Seattle Times. p. C1. Retrieved March 22, 2015 – via NewsBank.
  56. Serrano, Barbara A. (September 8, 1995). "Park plan tackles 'Mercer Mess'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  57. Becker, Paula (August 8, 2007). "Seattle voters reject the Seattle Commons levy on September 19, 1995". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  58. "Finally Fixing the Mercer Mess" (Press release). Seattle Department of Transportation. February 17, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  59. Lindblom, Mike (February 18, 2010). "Work on 'Mercer Mess' to start soon". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  60. Lindblom, Mike (September 8, 2010). "Construction of 'Mercer Mess' makeover ready to start". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  61. Heffter, Emily; Sullivan, Jennifer (August 27, 2012). "First day of new two-way Mercer Street still a mess". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  62. Lindblom, Mike (May 30, 2014). "Lots of summer roadwork planned, and it's already started". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  63. "Section of Seattle's Broad Street permanently closed; Mercer now a 2-way street". Seattle: KIRO-TV. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
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