New Seattle Tunnel Opening Day Drive Southbound 02/04/2019 

Yeah, what a douche-bag!

Wonder if it’s a Prius?

Haha! I was just going to post that.

Christopher Schrom I live in Michigan and I know about WA bad drivers. Especially left lane Prius.

Holding a cell phone while driving in Washington state is illegal.

Yeah, what a douche-bag!

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

CITAP1 there’s no ice in that tunnel. I drove it the same day. Left lane is for passing. Just because the road changes doesn’t mean you can’t. Lots of roads change. If your lane turns into an exit only lane do you just stay in the lane? No. Learn how to change lanes. You can even speed up to change lanes and get out of the way! If people are passing you on the right, it’s because you’re blocking the left lane, impeding traffic, and believe me, they are annoyed. The fact that there’s several comments telling you to get out of the passing lane should be a clue that your driving is ignorant and/or selfish. Please listen to what people are trying to tell you.

Actually let me put it much more simply for you. Washington State Law RCW 46.61.100 Keep right except when passing. There’s more details on specifics. Feel free to read up on it.

@@pacifictrash8993 You don't know what's on the road ahead till you drive it. Conditions were icy till proven otherwise. Think what you want.

Totally agree and normally I'm right lane unless passing or there is constant slow people in the right and I speed up to blend in the left lane. I drive to blend in with the flow. Today the entire tunnel had 4 cars in it, just not a big deal and we were all doing about the same.

@Barry White How many cars did you see? The roadways were empty! Who am I blocking?

​@@sirronkcuhcYou said in your own words "I got people speeding up behind me already. Just take a chill pill, people. I'm absorbing the tunnel" as you block the passing lane while admittedly going under the speed limit like an ass

I don't know why that tagged you @iwolffy. I deleted the tag. That wasn't meant to be directed at you

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

I was going to say there wasn't much traffic. But then HE had the balls to complain about people coming up behind him. Yeah. Dude. GET OUUT OF THE LEFT LANE!

Look at the video. There's one car in front, 2 way behind. The road is totally wide open.

@@CITAP1 left lane is for passing. The driver was not passing. No reason to be in the left lane

@@dillonyank862 The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

​@@CITAP1 You've copied and pasted this reply to dozens of other commenters, all who agree with me. I understand conditions weren't ideal and there was not much traffic. Sure, it may not have been as much of a problem being in the left lane as it could be on some days. You have only given excuses for why you think being in the left lane was not a serious problem. But you still haven't given any reason as to why you SHOULDN'T have been in the right lane. And if you don't think there was any opportunity to change lanes throughout the whole video because of the car behind you, or you think you wouldn't have had time to get back over for your exit for Home Depot, then your driving skills are not perfected enough for you to be driving on public roads yet.

@@dillonyank862 If there was traffic to speak of, I would have driven appropriately for the situation. Not saying what I was doing was right, I will say it didn't matter, nobody was there. The only reason you know there were vehicles behind me is bacause I made the comment. Those vehicles were far behind. If you're willing to believe things I said on the fly in the video on items you never actually saw, you should have no problem considering my explanations regarding those things you never saw. On a note of humor, I added the chill pill and absorbing comments. Had I not said those comments, they would have never entered your mind. Had I not mentioned anything about speed, it would have never entered your mind either. Take it or leave it. Judging by what I see other drivers do on a daily basis in much worse traffic, I suspect many of the biggest complainers are probably guilty of doing what I'm being chastised for much more often than I.

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

@@CITAP1 I don't care if it was 4 am ND you didn't see a single other vehicle... Left lane dicks cause accidents

@@dholli2 4AM, no vehicles, OK Mr/Ms Perfect, explain how an accident will happen in those conditions? People behind me was people waaaaay behind me.

@@CITAP1 they were way behind you until they weren't anymore and passing you on the right.

@@dholli2 The two vehicles behind me didn't catch up till I was out of the tunnel and passed the left turn which I decided not to take to Home Depot at the last moment and continued straight. I wanted to be in the left lane for that exit anyway. After the video cuts out, I move right. You people are making all kinds of assumptions from overactive imaginations. I'm narrating what I see in the tunnel on the fly trying to describe things, I say a couple words everyone seems to focus on and pay no attention to the rest of the details. That's fine, I deal with different people all the time and they all have their little hot points. I agree, people should drive to the right but that isn't always the case. There can be a lot of slow cars and a lot of faster cars. Some faster cars want to go faster than other fast cars and that causes problems too when less fast cars don't want to get right because it's going to hold them up by slower cars. People screw the roads with their individual specialness. In the circumstance I was in, nobody was effected. Nobody! Different conditions, I'd do what's appropriate at the time right or left lane depending on traffic and so would you, maybe...

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

That is an excuse. The lane to the left is not for travel you had more than enough time to get over and back I am sorry you have to make excuses for not following traffic. Seems like quite a few people below agree, including the listed law.

@@DriveOnGuard Go home bro, Do you drive the tunnel? Do you know what the fuck is going on? I think not. Left lane becomes an exit, as he said....obviously you didnt watch the video. In Seattle, if you need the lane, you better fucking take it way before you get there, otherwise your taking 3 or more exits and side streets adding an hour to your commute if you miss it.

Holding the phone while driving is illegal in Washington state.

Thanks Cave Beast. I didn't want to be too picky but that too.

IN NEW JERSEY HE WOULD HAVE GOT A R.P.G. UP HIS ASS THEN THE FINGER AS HE WAS SMOULDERING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

people don't give a fuck about the state law in seattle...they have a communist on their city council and a bunch of diposhit muthafuckers who voted for the cunt bitch running around

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

@@CITAP1 Repost this comment and pin it

My pleasure!

You don't change lanes in a tunnel. Someone needs to have more driving education.

Roads with 2 laned on each side have both lanes as travel lanes

*lanes

@@KBowWow75 there's passing lines painted on the tunnels pavement.. someone thinks they have all their driving education.

Since things are a little different in Washington, the Number One Lane in WADOT jargon is the right or "outside" lane -- moving right to left. Since the number of lanes vary on freeways, I guess that would make sense. Still no excuse for driving slow in the fast lane and whining about it.

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

Holding the phone while driving is illegal in Washington state.

I have it on GOPRO too. Got to edit it down with stuck busses, cars, and snow. Take care.

That's why they make passengers to hold the camera steady and in position for narration.

@@CITAP1, your passenger held it in the center-left of the windshield for you?

@in360 stop acting like a bitch

@@CITAP1 there was clearly no passenger

@@robynhills7982 What was clear is there were no other vehicles.

The response is, look at the road, there's nobody there. Obviously you spent time reading through a few comments. I appreciate that. Last night driving Alaska Way, I could see traffic was backed up half a mile before the Northbound tunnel entrance. That means 2,5 miles traffic backed up through the tunnel.

@@CITAP1 Stupid fucking response. Get the fuck off the road.

You are to be commended on your quality of work. Many aspects of construction done in this tunnel, make it a Marvel of Engineering.

That's funny.

I also enjoyed seeing it. Thank you!

Seattle ain't beautiful no more. Tents on sidewalks everywhere

Yeah, what a douche-bag!

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

The video starts with me driving the center lane. The right lane is bus only or right turns. All of the sudden the left lane becomes an exit and the center lane becomes the left lane. I have a vehicle behind me in the right lane who just got on the road at the tunnel entrance and that person is hovering behind me in the right lane preventing me from getting over to the right, don't want to cut that person off, and slowly begins to move forward to pass. I am in the left lane due to the design of the road. I started in the right lane. I then consider exiting to the left at the end of the tunnel to get materials at Home Depot but decide to do it later. The only other two cars in sight pass me just after that point. After the video ends, I move to the center lane again where I originally started the video. Don't believe me, watch the video again. Events happen exactly as I say they do. Doing under the limit, icy conditions ring a bell?

Constantly Passed? 1 car that got on at the tunnel entrance in the right lane and stayed just behind me on the right half way through the tunnel. The other cars at the end were never in the tunnel, they had just gotten on at the stadiums in the right lane on ramp. I was never in anyone's way, in fact, I was out of peoples way by being left. I originally planned to exit left to Home Depot but decided against it instead going to the jobsite and getting things started there. Compare to this video, notice where the video ends. 1 minute 30 seconds long. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NcTD_RXVTy0.html

@@CITAP1 Look man if you were going 5 under the limit in the fast lane there's no excuse for that. If you're being passed on the right you're in way.

@@OddWorldKing Just for kicks, watch this version. Same video but on the Go Pro. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UhcUjXMbNAQ.html

Going northbound in an hour or so. Check out that direction.

@@CITAP1 it's getting real bad here again. I'll get outta here soon enuf.

@@oldcrow6990 I worked later than I planned. Everything is iced over now. Slow and Easy!

The tunnel northbound will become a parking lot where it comes out and vehicles are trying to exit to Mercer and others trying to get on front Denny Way. It will unquestionably backup possibly the entire length of the tunnel with two of the city's biggest traffic conflict points working together. The old Battery Street Tunnel should immediately be fast tracked to become a crosstown speedway. It's already there and paid for, just needs the road connections.

@@CITAP1 I would tend to agree with you on the Battery tunnel. Use it for relief. They may also have to think about future short access relief tunnels to downtown as well. But one thing is for sure, traffic jams will be a thing.

I haven't driven through the tunnel since the tolls started but I think they shut the tunnels down monthly and clean everything. Since this video, there has been one instance of tagging which was cleaned up. Don't know now. There was an issue that came up, the tunnel is below the level of Puget Sound and is supposed to be water tight. It is perhaps 100 yards from the water for 1/4 mile then slowly moves inland. They discovered a leak into the tunnel. The story dropped from the news. Friday, we have a huge high level west Seattle freeway bridge they have shut down indefinitely due to cracks being discovered in the concrete. If it needs significant work, it could easily run a billion dollars. Just another day here in Seatroit. take care. How's the Big Dig holding up. The wife used to work for an engineering firm that worked on that project.

@@CITAP1 We had a period where water was shooting through the walls and people were afraid to use the tunnel because they thought the walls would collapse. The had to get engineers to go on TV and say that the tunnels was safe. It took a while but people got over it. Now the tunnel is just a s congested as the highway it replaced. The walls are covered in soot and they did clean the walls only to find it was too expensive to clean the walls every month so they do it once a year.

Fort Lewis, JBLM now, is a daily traffic mess and Fife even worse. The exchange between I-5 and the two Tacoma Narrows bridges is massive. That project seems to have going for 50 years, always something going on there. There is a new 520 floating bridge and talk of a second Mountlake Cut bridge. The city has sunk a lot of money into light rail when they should have built or widened roads and bought buses for less with much greater flexibility. Take care...

@@CITAP1 my partners son ( south African) is moving from Florida to Bellingham this year. We will buy a camper in USA and tour Canada USA and Mexico when he becomes a breeder with his new wife. Thanks for advice Bought ford transit Past owners just had New cam belt New CV joints I will need to get work on minor rust on bodywork whilst I will be vacationing in Australia

@@Kiwionwing Breeder Ha Ha! Love it... That's our travel plan when I retire in just over a year from now. My lovely Fembot is a year older and will keep working till then. Alaska first and Western Canada, then chase 70 degrees South, Then up the Eastern Seaboard and Eastern half of Canada the second year. We'll decide what to do after that then...

@@CITAP1 ha ha wondering what Tracey would say if I call her a fembot Her USA son is gaming promoter/agent Think he would laugh

@@Kiwionwing If he knows what a Fembot is. I find a lot of pop cultural references we older folks assume everybody knows are lost on younger generations. I like Bellingham. Seems to be colder and wetter there than Seattle but a pretty area to live.

Yeah, no stone unturned. LOL

The tunnel went way over budget and the contractor is on the hook for it, so maybe they cheaped out on the road surface?

You're welcome. Tonight, I drove the side road, Alaska Way, next to Hwy 99 leading North into the tunnel. Traffic was backed up the entire 2 miles of the tunnel and at least another half mile South leading into the tunnel. They designed the exit ramp for Mercer Street at the North end of the tunnel too short, so traffic backs up. As soon as the backup gets out to the through lanes, everything screeches to a crawl. A design flaw here to stay.

How many did you count?

Glad you liked the music. I had to use it to prevent copyright issues due to the radio. For context of driving conditions, here's the video showing before the tunnel and that night. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Lkhantsj-BQ.html

looks like about the most bare bones, bare minimum tube slapped together as sloppily as possible. It already looks old and outdated. I hear the smell of exhaust fumes are already building up inside and bothering drivers.

This is an in city arterial roadway not a freeway. We have a lot of crybabies on the road.

Thank you, I don't mind the comments. It's just people. 1.18% of viewers comment. 1.019% Click Like. .416% Click Don't Like. About .5% of the comments are negative. A fraction of that are bad. It's really a very successful video, most people are enjoying it and that's the goal. Take care...

@@CITAP1 That's good to hear. It was just funny how basically all the top comments contradict the chill vibe that you're giving in this video that I had to make some kind of remark

@@CITAP1Yeah I don't get why everyone's freaking out. It's not like it's the law that the left lane is passing only.

@@StrictlyAwesome All those poor cars you see in the left lane, oh wait, there aren't any...

@@StrictlyAwesome Common practice and most state laws on United States highways is that the left lane is reserved for passing and faster moving traffic, and that traffic using the left lane must yield to traffic wishing to overtake.

I can only imagine. The best comments are yet to come. Take care...

Here's an overlay of the two. ascelibrary.org/cms/attachment/310bae0c-98cb-4610-998e-b0cda570965f/figure5.jpg

CITAP1 Thank you now it makes sense to me :)

Agreed. This is a nice looking tunnel, but why was it built?

State Route 99 runs along the west side of Seattle near the waterfront. The tunnel was built to replace an old and crumbling viaduct, which was a double deck highway raised above the ground with columns and pilings.

It also was delayed 2 years and like all government projects 200 million over budget

they put a new swanky park on top of this thing where the old road of death viaduct was (it was the same design as the one that was destroyed in the 1989 bay area quake)

And this alone took years to even get the ball rolling.

It goes under the city center bypassing the city. Here's the WIKI article about it. It does go below sea-level but not sure how much. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct_replacement_tunnel

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NcTD_RXVTy0.html Here, watch this one.

I think the right side has 8 or 10 feet. I understand they have an immediate response team at the tunnel. I have seen DOT trucks frequently in the tunnel.

I thought the train was cancelled a few days ago. I know your freeways at rush hour, forget it. At least the smog isn't like it was in the 80's. That was something!

The complete line from LA to SF was canceled but they are going to finish the segment from Bakersfield to Modesto. The smog in the 60's was even worst, I would get stinging pains in my chest during gym class outside. The only time you could see the mountains was after a rain or during the Santa Ana winds.