Views, Bertha, and a years-long political battle: How we got to the viaduct demolition The "period of maximum constraint" is finally here -- how did we get here?

Where did the viaduct come from, and where will it go? Well that tale is a doozy. Where did the viaduct come from, and where will it go? Well that tale is a doozy. Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 158 Caption Close Views, Bertha, and a years-long political battle: How we got to the viaduct demolition 1 / 158 Back to Gallery

You've probably heard: Seattle is about to be hell.

Whatever traffic and cultural woes we had before about the way the city is headed will -- like the rest of us -- come to a standstill on Friday, when the viaduct is closed and we wait three weeks for the switch-over to the new state Route 99 tunnel.

Of course, even that is just the beginning: It's the beginning of the so-called "Period of Maximum Constraint," a multi-year timeline filled with construction projects one after another. On the other end of it Seattle transportation will allegedly be unrecognizable, but that period will be agonizing in the meantime.

RELATED: Is your commute Seattle Squeeze proof?

So ... just how did we get here? And what exactly will "here" be when it's done?

The answer to the latter can be found here:

Promenade Pioneer Square. Promenade Pioneer Square. Photo: Courtesy Of The City Of Seattle Photo: Courtesy Of The City Of Seattle Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Seattle waterfront renderings 2019 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

The renderings show the "new waterfront," the city's planned 20-acre waterfront park to be built will include a more seamless connection to Pike Place Market and the downtown core now that the dividing line of the viaduct is removed.

RELATED: No 'pain,' no 'gain': Seattle mayor hails post-viaduct waterfront park as traffic nightmares loom

As for the rest, well it's a story that dates back longer than the viaduct itself.

Coming off of a couple of decades devoted to keeping Seattle changing -- completing the Denny Regrade, the Elliott Bay Seawall and the Aurora Bridge, to name a few -- the city was enjoying a post-war boom thanks to the airplanes Boeing was building in what's now Sodo. In 1954, the Battery Street Tunnel opened to provide a link from the Aurora Avenue "speedway" to the newly-constructed viaduct.

The viaduct was initially built to protect what the city viewed as the real reason for the waterfront: shipping. A petition was circulated which asserted that using the waterfront as a traffic bypass would cause "irreparable damage to the city's maritime commerce." By lifting the traffic above Alaskan Way, the city seemed to resolve the traffic issue.

RELATED: Ahead of the Seattle Squeeze: Looking back at Seattle's waterfront through the years:

Seattle's waterfront will undergo a huge make-over in a few years, so here's a look at iconic moments in the city's famous district. Seattle's waterfront will undergo a huge make-over in a few years, so here's a look at iconic moments in the city's famous district. Photo: Multiple, P-I File, MOHAI Photo: Multiple, P-I File, MOHAI Image 1 of / 66 Caption Close Seattle waterfront: Then and now 1 / 66 Back to Gallery

And everyone was happy with that resolution until February 2001, when an earthquake hit. The city came out relatively unscathed, but the 6.8 magnitude quake has sunk sections of the viaduct several inches.

Engineers and crews who worked to stabilize the viaduct agreed that if the quake had lasted a few moments longer, there wouldn't be a viaduct left to rescue. And so the decision was made to replace the viaduct -- but not, at least immediately, how.

During the next decade, ideas were bandied about, and one of the most scrutinized public processes in Washington's history waged on; more than 90 options were ultimately studied, according to the state Department of Transportation. Tempers flared, political campaigns came and went. So did parts of the viaduct itself, which were updated while we all waited for the politicians to sort out the issues.

RELATED: A timeline of the Alaskan Way Viaduct's checkered history:

This time the focus on the waterfront had more to do with visuals than shipping, which had decamped to other spots in the city. And so eventually, it came down to two options: A new viaduct, or a new tunnel to replace it.

And in 2009 the decision was finally made: then-Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill approving funding for a viaduct replacement. The bill provided up to $2.8 billion in state funding for the new tunnel boring project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Had everything gone according to plan, Bertha, the tunnel boring machine, would've started in July 2013 and emerged on the other side about 14 months later. But as we all know, it was far from that simple.

Bertha would stop just over four months later, having only covered about 1,000 feet as of the day before.

The ensuing break would take nearly two years to resolve -- the machine encountered serious resistance, and redesigns would ultimately have to happen for the borer to move forward. During that time a fish truck would overturn on the viaduct, stopping traffic for more than nine hours, and the "deadline" for Bertha would come and go.

RELATED: A timeline of Bertha's triumphs, fits and failures:

From our first look at Bertha in 2012, to her latest stalls, we've watched the massive tunneling machine complete roughly 1,437 feet of the nearly two-mile tunnel. Click through here to see a timeline of Bertha's triumphs, fits and failures.

First glimpse:

December 2012 - Before we even saw the world's largest tunneling machine arrive on Seattle's shores, we got a look at her through her official Twitter account, @BerthaDigsSR99 (not to be confused with the multiple satirical Bertha accounts that have sprung up since her troubles began).

(Photo by Washington State Department of Transportation.) less From our first look at Bertha in 2012, to her latest stalls, we've watched the massive tunneling machine complete roughly 1,437 feet of the nearly two-mile tunnel. Click through here to see a timeline of ... more Photo: - Photo: - Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close A timeline of Bertha's triumphs, fits and failures 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

And that wouldn't be the last time Bertha stopped. In January of 2016 Bertha stopped twice; once for a problem with a barge being used to haul dirt away, the second when a sinkhole was opening up behind the machine.

It wouldn't be until April 4, 2017 that Bertha would break through on the north end of what will soon be the state Route 99 tunnel. From there, construction continued on getting the inside of the tunnel ready to go, completing in March 2018.

And now we find ourselves here, staring down a period of maximum constraint, a whole lot of growing pain, and, hopefully, a better transportation system (that now features a tunnel with a toll).

RELATED: As the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes, so closes a chapter of Seattle history

Had things happened a little earlier, there might be fewer projects making Seattleites feels quite so squeezed: that Bertha's lag and the political squabbling led us to a time when the viaduct is being switched over around the additional constraints of ferry dock construction and the re-routing King County Metro buses from the downtown bus tunnel to Third Avenue in March while the Washington Convention Center is remodeled and expanded.

But soon, Seattle will have its waterfront. Exactly how soon is a bit unclear; Mayor Jenny Durkan offered no information at a press conference last Thursday on a construction timeline for the new park and how it would affect traffic during that time.

Durkan and waterfront boosters did announce the payment structure for the remodeled park, which bears a budget of $712 million. Of that, more than half -- approximately $442 million -- will come from state and city coffers, while about $249 million will be drawn from the city's commercial parking tax.

Durkan said she was "very confident" that the spending plan would pass the city council, where her administration submitted it on Thursday.

For now, Seattle will have to make do. One way or another.