Hot on the heels of The Showbox music venue’s push for landmark status, another enduring city feature has applied for landmark status of its own: the eternal road construction of SR 99.
The famed tire-shredding highway, known in its most popular local stretch as “Aurora”, has been a beloved pothole-craggled hellzone since its initial construction in 1969.
Local resident Keith Abrahms spoke fondly of all the memories the traffic-cone riddled road has given him over the years.
“I remember my first flat tire like it was yesterday,” reminisced Abrahms, stubbing a cigarette out on the stoop of his room at The Aurora Motel. “Going 70 and hitting a pothole, big sum-bitch dropped the whole rig and I hit the roof, spilling my beer everywhere. She’s a mischievous devil, but you want a gal that can keep you on your toes. Besides, all the construction slowdown gives me plenty of time to scope out the working girls strutting their stuff.”
Lindsey Kittle, spokesperson for the City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, echoed the glowing sentiment for the public’s push for landmark status.
“The reduced lanes and endless windshield cracking gravel have become beloved fixtures in our community over these past 50 years,” said Kittle. “Road workers have passed down the back-breaking construction work from generation to generation, and we’re proud to ensure that the endless cycle of pavement milling and repaving will continue for our children.”
Supporters are confident that the aneurysm-inducing stretch of orange cone-speckled highway will achieve landmark status by 2030, when it finally escapes the clutches of endless bureaucracy.
