The right-of-way continues northwest through the park, just west of the BNSF Railway mainline, and the roadway picks up again for a few blocks at Smith Cove.

[7] The portion of Railroad Avenue from Yesler Way in what is now the Pioneer Square neighborhood to University Street near today's Harbor Steps burned in the Great Fire, as did most of the city and most of its piers.

[3][5] The tideflats were steadily filled in, placing the rails south of Downtown—and the route of the southern portion of today's Alaskan Way—on dry land.

[7] Federal funds[citation needed] supplemented a local levy to allow the city to extend the seawall northward to Bay Street, which was completed in 1936.

A citizen's committee convened by mayor John F. Dore had chosen "The Pierway" out of 9,000 public suggestions, but it was also not considered by the council.

[15] In April 2023, the central section of Alaskan Way was given an honorary name, Dzidzilalich, which was derived from the Lushootseed name dᶻidᶻəlalič (meaning "little crossing-over place"), one of the Duwamish villages on Elliott Bay.

A new bicycle lane on the west side was proposed to begin construction in 2023, but its design was opposed by the Port of Seattle due to potential conflicts with cruise ship passengers using the Bell Harbor Pier.

A revised design from SDOT to move a portion of the lane near Pier 62 to the east side of Alaskan Way drew criticism from local bicycling activists.