SEATTLE, WA - A retired Air Force officer has been hired to oversee the city's Seattle Squeeze response. Retired Maj. General Mike Worden was a finalist for the SDOT director job, but will now become Seattle's first director of citywide mobility operations coordination.

Worden began in the new role on Jan. 2. He will serve as a single point of contact for the city's 29 departments, according to a press release, and oversee incident response, including emergency services. He will report to Mayor Jenny Durkan.

The Seattle Squeeze - or "period of maximum constraint" - begins in just eight days when the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes. A stretch of SR 99 between the West Seattle Bridge and South Lake Union will be closed for about three weeks so WSDOT can shift the roadway into the new tunnel.