Seattle girds for its own Carmageddon

Up there they're calling it Viadoom — the massive urban traffic breakdown some fear from the nine-day closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct along the Seattle waterfront. It's one of only two north-south freeways through downtown Seattle, and it shuts down Friday night. But for their pain, Seattleites get their waterfront back. The unbelievably ugly and ill-placed elevated highway is being completely removed from the landscape and replaced by a tunnel. At least, that's the long term plan. For now, work is just beginning.