Visits up at Seattle Aquarium despite seawall work

Signs, and even a path painted blue, help visitors reach the Seattle Aquarium.

It's a big mess, so everything helps.

Seawall construction started in front of the aquarium in January, making the attraction accessible only from the south.

Aquarium CEO Bob Davidson said after record high attendance last year, visits actually rose about 2 percent since this work began out front.

"Over 850,000 people managed to get through here without falling in a hole or getting struck by a big earth-moving machine," Davidson said.

He hopes that trend continues this summer despite the construction.

Just to the south, visitor numbers are rebounding for businesses in the historic piers.

Seawall work in front of the piers finished just before Memorial Day.

"The day they took the fences down, customer counts doubled," said Ivar's President Bob Donegan.

The waterfront walk and the parking are back.

"It's summer on the waterfront in the way you used to remember it from the good old days," Donegan said.

The city is rebuilding the seawall because the old one could collapse into Elliott Bay in an earthquake.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says compared to the original plan, the project is $71 million over budget and will finish six months late.

Cox Media Group