Seattle power outage forced closure of SR 99 tunnel Thursday morning

State Route 99 tunnel reopens after power outage shuts it down

Seattle’s State Route 99 tunnel is back open after a morning power outage forced a full closure and gridlocked downtown traffic for hours.

SEATTLE - A Thursday morning power outage forced the closure of the SR 99 tunnel in both directions, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

"Heads up: Due to a power outage, the SR 99 tunnel in Seattle is CLOSED in both directions. Seek alternate routes," WSDOT Traffic posted on X (formerly Twitter) at 7:39 a.m. Thursday.

As of 10:50 a.m. Thursday, the southbound SR 99 tunnel was back open with power restored to ventilation systems. Northbound lanes were reopened shortly after.

Drivers were advised to plan for extra travel time.

The Seattle Department of Transportation said the eastbound West Seattle Bridge off-ramp to northbound SR 99 was also closed.

Power outage affects south Seattle

According to Seattle City Light, about 172 customers in South Seattle were affected by the outage. The outage began at 6:59 a.m., and power had been restored by around 10:00 a.m.

Alternate routes for drivers

With the SR 99 tunnel closed, WSDOT advised drivers to consider other major routes through and around downtown Seattle:

• Interstate 5 (I-5) through downtown Seattle
• State Route 519 (SR 519) for access to the stadium area and waterfront
• Alaskan Way surface streets for local traffic

Drivers should expect increased congestion on these routes during the morning commute and allow for additional travel time.

When will the tunnel reopen?

The tunnel reopened later Thursday morning after power was restored, and lighting, ventilation, and safety features, were able to be brought back online.

WSDOT said updates will be shared on its social media accounts and wsdot.com/traffic once power is restored and the tunnel can safely reopen.

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