SEATTLE, Wash. — It was launched after intense debate, featured a massive boring machine that was broken by a buried pipe and was finished years late, but Seattle’s Highway 99 tunnel has won a prestigious prize.
The two-mile-long $3.3 billion tunnel that finally opened early last year has received the Grand Prize in the 2020 America’s Transportation Awards contest.
The awards committee evaluated projects on how they improved quality of life, the most innovative use of technology and operational excellence.
The annual competition is sponsored by an association of state transportation officials, the Triple-A and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The tunnel under Seattle’s downtown replaced the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct.