The city has kicked it into gear with the new pedestrian bridge that will connect Pike Place Market to the downtown waterfront. The “Overlook Walk” bridge will reportedly stretch above Alaskan Way with one arm descending directly to a new waterfront promenade and another arm extending onto the roof of a new Seattle Aquarium pavilion.
The pedestrian bridge, expected to open by 2025, will connect to the “MarketFront” addition to Pike Place Market that was completed in 2017. The waterfront redevelopment also includes a new Alaskan Way with two general-traffic lanes in each direction, plus a bus lane each way and two turn lanes for ferry traffic near Colman Dock.
The Overlook Walk project is part of a massive redevelopment of Seattle’s downtown waterfront that was made possible by the 2019 removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The price tag for the pedestrian bridge is about $70 million. The cost of the entire redevelopment scheme is more than $750 million, paid for by the city, the state, private donors and a special tax on downtown property owners assessed through a “local improvement district.”
The bridge will include slopes and a new elevator in addition to stairs, according to the Office of the Waterfront, which says the space will serve as a sort of “elevated park” with terraced landscaping, native plants, expansive Elliott Bay views, amphitheater-style seats for concerts and a new cafe, plus slides and other “play elements” for children.
Friends of the Waterfront Seattle, a nonprofit that will manage the operations of the redeveloped waterfront, is supposed to raise $110 million from private donors. The organization had raised $84 million as of December.
Construction on the bridge began last week. The promenade and the Aquarium’s pavilion for sharks and stingrays are also currently under construction.
