Downtown Seattle features an elevated section of highway, known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It dates back to the 1950s, and was heavily damaged during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. There's no question that it's seismically unsound, and our state DoT put out this simulation a few years back to demonstrate what the next big quake is likely to do to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hos_uIKwC-c

So, a few options were proposed to replace it:

1. Surface highway

2. Cut and cover tunnel

3. Deep bore tunnel

A surface highway is, by far, the simplest option to implement: you knock down the viaduct, and repave the area underneath it (there's already a road under the viaduct—it just needs expansion).

The viaduct is a death trap, and it will kill some or all of the people on it when it comes down. There is absolutely no question about that in my mind whatsoever. For that reason, I absolutely refuse to set foot on it. There's going to be political hell to pay when it collapses and Seattleites are re-reminded that there was no reason why anyone had to die on a highway everyone knew was unsafe.