Note from Storm: Seattle residents might enjoy this bit of redevelopment nostalgia. This 2009 New York Times article announces the high hopes many had for the removal of the decrepit, badly-placed Alaskan Way Viaduct. The project’s many difficulties are well-known nationally, especially the Big Bertha disaster, whereby the world’s largest boring machine got stuck underground.
In many ways, Seattle’s tribulations recall Boston’s Big Dig: an excellent and much-needed plan that would renew, repurpose, and reconnect the city’s waterfront, but plagued by poor execution. [Image credit : James Corner Field Operations]