Central Waterfront, Seattle - Location and Extent - Roads

Roads

As of 2008, the two main routes along the Central Waterfront are Alaskan Way and (from Battery Street south) the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Alaskan Way follows the route of the earlier railway line and one-time Railroad Avenue along the "Ram's Horn" from just north of S. Holgate Street in the Industrial District to Broad Street at the north end of the Central Waterfront.

The original Railroad Avenue was built as a planked roadway on pilings over the waters of Elliott Bay. The chaos of horses and buggies, pedestrians, rail cars, multiple railroad tracks and multiple sidings was somewhat relieved when the Great Northern built a rail tunnel (1903–1906) under Downtown. From that time, only rail traffic that actually needed to access the waterfront had to use Railroad Avenue; other trains could bypass the busy corridor. Still, there continued to be problems with the structural integrity of the planked roadway. Between 1911 and 1916, a concrete seawall strengthened the portion of the waterfront between S. Washington Street and Madison Street. By 1936 the seawall extended northward to Bay Street, its current extent as of 2008, and Railroad Avenue officially became Alaskan Way. Still, it was not properly paved until 1940, during the administration of mayor Arthur Langlie. In the early 1950s, the Alaskan Way Viaduct was built, paralleling Alaskan Way for much of its distance.

From May 29, 1982 to November 19, 2005 the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line ran parallel to Alaskan Way on the land side. The trolley barn was demolished to build the Olympic Sculpture Park, and since 2005 a roughly equivalent route has been served by a bus. The tracks and stations remain.