SEATTLE -- The city has come up with a plan to ease congestion when construction begins on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The aging viaduct, which has served as a lifeline for commuters who live in West Seattle and other areas outside the city, has to come down. And when construction starts thousands of commuters will have to find a new way to get to work.

The reinforced concrete highway bridge stretches from about Holgate Street on the south to the Battery Street Tunnel on the north.

Some 110,000 cars drive on the viaduct each day. It's no question construction will cause headaches, but going without is not an option.

The Department of Transportation says it's hoping to ease traffic disruptions by getting more people to board city buses.

When phase one of project begins, King County will put 30 new buses on city streets and expand bus routes from White Center, West Seattle, Ballard and Shoreline.

"We're ensuring that commuters have real alternatives available to them during construction," said King County Executive Ron Sims.

But not all commuters buy the plan.

"People that take buses to begin with, that would help them. But people aren't going to get out of their cars to take buses," said Jim Lyon.

"You can have all the buses but if people are not using them then I'm not sure it's going to help," said Noah Blankenship.

City officials disagree. They say the plan will put 4,000 new commuters on buses. Sims is hoping employers will foot the bill for bus passes and designate car and vanpool parking.

"We're going to work with employers and say to them, 'your employees are probably not going to be able to get downtown in their cars efficiently,'" said Sims.

The plan, which will cost $32 million, will be paid for by the state.

A replacement for the viaduct has not yet been determined. While some prefer a rebuild, others, such as former Sen. Slade Gordon and former Gov. Gary Locke, have said Seattle would be better off without it. One of the benefits of removing the viaduct would be opening up downtown Seattle to the water.

City officials plan to reach a central waterfront solution by the end of this year. Gov. Christine Gregoire has stated that the two-tiered roadway will be torn down in 2012 with or without a re-building strategy.