with more than 80 percent of voters in Seattle rejecting the measure. By this time, the tunnel was not expected to be completed until 2019, and had incurred $223 million in cost overruns. Opening of new tunnel In March 2018, construction of the replacement tunnel was expected to be completed in August 2018, with a planned opening date of October 2018. Cost overruns had reached about $600 million due to the delays in tunnel boring. WSDOT reverted to the tunnel's original opening date of early 2019 to accommodate a longer preparation period and avoid potential work delays due to winter weather. On January 11, 2019, the Alaskan Way Viaduct was permanently closed in preparation for the opening of the new tunnel, which required the excavation of several buried ramps at the south portal and other road realignments. The viaduct was opened for pedestrian traffic only on February 2, 2019, and then for bicycle traffic only on the day after (2/03/2019), as part of a planned festival to celebrate the freeway's history. Over 100,000 people attended the two events, which also included tours of the new tunnel. The replacement tunnel opened to motorized traffic on February 4, 2019 following the opening celebration, which was the only time people walking or riding bikes were allowed in the tunnel. Demolition and replacement Demolition of the viaduct began on February 15, 2019, after being delayed by several days due to a severe snowstorm. Contractors began with the upper deck and its columns, followed by the lower deck in a section-by-section process. It was originally scheduled to be completed by June 2019, but a compressed schedule caused by the tunnel's delayed opening caused demolition to take longer than expected and conflict with the summer tourism season. Demolition work reached the 50 percent milestone on June 11, with the Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market sections left for the final stages. The final double-deck section of the viaduct, including the Marion Street pedestrian bridge at Colman Dock, was demolished in late September 2019. The final section of the viaduct, removed in November 2019, was over the northern portal of the Great Northern Tunnel near the Pike Place Market. Demolition work was completed on November 21, 2019, with of concrete recycled and of steel rebar reclaimed. Some of the concrete from the demolition was pulverized and used to fill the Battery Street Tunnel. New development along the