Commuters, bus riders and bicyclists welcomed back their normal weekday commutes Wednesday after crews reopened State Route 99 near South Lake Union at 4 a.m.

During the closure, crews building the future north portal of the SR 99 tunnel demolished and replaced the section of SR 99 that crosses above Broad Street. It took just four days to complete the work and rebuild the highway (see how in this newlyupdated time-lapse video). Nearby, crews relocated major utility lines beneath SR 99 near Harrison Street that were in the way of portal construction.

“We thank commuters for their patience and their help,” said Dave Sowers, WSDOT’s deputy administrator of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. “We know there were some difficult commutes during the weekday portion of the closure, but we also know if people hadn’t changed their habits, things could have been much worse.”

During the weekend portion of the closure, crews took advantage of the empty highway by completing work elsewhere along the SR 99 corridor. They replaced 81 concrete panels on SR 99 south of downtown, repaired an expansion joint at the Seneca Street off-ramp from northbound SR 99 and cleared ivy from the Alaskan Way Viaduct to make future maintenance of the structure easier.