Tickets For SR 99 Tunnel Grand Opening Running Out

SEATTLE, WA - If you want to talk an up-close look at the new SR 99 tunnel, better get your (free) ticket soon. WSDOT's grand opening ceremony for the tunnel, called "Step Forward," happens this weekend and includes a walking tour, a fun run, and a bike ride.

Bad news first: the bike ride, presented by the Cascade Bicycle Club, is full. But there's also an 8K (5-mile) run/walk that goes through the new tunnel and back via the old Alaskan Way Viaduct.

For a broader audience, Saturday will be packed with festivities and tunnel tours. An official ribbon cutting for the new tunnel happens at 11:30 a.m., but there will also be science exhibits and music at Pyramid Brewery, an arts fair on top of the old viaduct, and plenty more.

If you want to attend, get free tickets here. The tunnel tours are staggered throughout the day, and some have already sold out.

The new SR 99 tunnel should open to traffic sometime after this weekend, if all construction goes according to plan. The tunnel transports drivers underneath downtown Seattle with no exits between the stadiums and the north portal near Denny Way.

Image courtesy WSDOT