Bremerton Tunnel artfully reduces congestion

From yesterday's visit to Seattle, I traveled across Puget Sound for the opening of the Bremerton Tunnel.

The $54 million tunnel was built to redirect vehicle traffic off-loading from the ferry and make the downtown Bremerton area more pedestrian-friendly. They have fourteen boats arriving each day, with about 330,000 vehicles off-loading in 2008.

I want to thank Governor Christine Gregoire and Congressman Norm Dicks, without whose leadership this project would not have been funded.

 

It's not the longest tunnel in the world at 959 feet, but it is a beauty. It's also full of technology, with systems for lighting, electrical, communications, ventilation, flood control, fire detection, camera detection and hydrocarbon detection.

One feature definitely worth some attention is the design of the tunnel walls. The entrance and exit feature sculpting that looks like basalt columns, and the underground walls feature relief artwork that looks like trees.
 

Apparently, tiles were eliminated from the tunnel plan to reduce costs, but the contractor suggested using this artwork. Now, that's the kind of creative partnership I wish every project would enjoy.

 

Directing commuter traffic underground will improve safety and decrease congestion.

 

But, the tunnel also makes possible unobstructed access to new waterfront shops, housing, and parkland. And, this is an important step forward in Bremerton’s efforts to modernize its central business district and entice more people to live, work, and play here.

 

One of the Obama Administration's top priorities is investing in projects that help cities become more livable and sustainable.

 

The Bremerton Tunnel fits squarely with those goals.

Comments

[Carol Rhoades]

I have just read through the majority of you Blog postings for July. Very nice! Great information and interesting as well. This is my first visit to the Dept. of Transportation's website and I'm pleasantly surprised. I live in Seattle, and find your article on the Bremerton tunnel much more informative than our local newscasts which barely touched on this. I've taken the Bremerton ferry many times and now look forward to seeing the changes happening there. It will be wonderful to see that waterfront spruced up.
Keep up the great work! I'll be back to read more as I agree that building and modernizing our national infrastructure is critical to our safety and continued economic success. It seems to have been forgotten or ignored over the past 20-30 years, but I hope that in the years to come the importance of America's infrastructure becomes more and more paramount.