South Park Bridge to open on June 30th, 4-year anniversary of old bridge’s closure; big party on June 29th

(Photo by Long B. Nguyen)
Four days ago, showing that aerial of the almost-complete South Park Bridge, we mentioned it’s close to opening. And now, the date’s just been announced – June 30th, the four-year anniversary of the old bridge’s closure:

King County Executive Dow Constantine today announced that the newly constructed South Park Bridge will open June 30. The previous drawbridge, built in 1931, was closed and dismantled in mid-2010 due to safety concerns.

“I made a promise five years ago that we would build a new, safer bridge to connect our industrial heartland to the rest of King County — and we’re ready to deliver,” said Executive Constantine. “Not only will this help local manufacturers and family-owned businesses, it will reunite working communities in the Lower Duwamish area.”

The new bridge is expected to carry 20,000 vehicles and nearly 3,000 heavy-duty trucks each day. It will also carry an estimated 10 million tons of freight each year, including aerospace parts to local Boeing facilities.

ADDED 11:52 AM: The county has a gallery of images of the new bridge accompanying this announcement on its website, including this one:

(Photo by Ned Ahrens, King County DOT)
See the rest here.

3:20 PM UPDATE: While June 30th will be the official opening to traffic, information that’s come out in the past few hours clarifies that the big party will be on Sunday, June 29th, so mark your calendar for that.

11 Replies to "South Park Bridge to open on June 30th, 4-year anniversary of old bridge's closure; big party on June 29th"

  • Marty2 June 4, 2014 (11:47 am)

    Great News!

  • westseattledood June 4, 2014 (12:24 pm)

    YAY!

    Eat at Muy Macho! Best food service in South Park. :)

  • Todd June 4, 2014 (12:32 pm)

    Finally! I can’t wait to be able to take the old route!

  • Strike em out Kinney June 4, 2014 (2:06 pm)

    Excellent. Now I can shave some time off getting to work. Also, its convenient when the 1st Ave bridge is in the up position and I don’t feel like waiting.

  • zackpanic June 4, 2014 (3:19 pm)

    YAY!!

  • West Seattle Hipster June 4, 2014 (5:10 pm)

    Excellent news, thanks for all of the updates.

  • miws June 4, 2014 (5:32 pm)

    WOOT!

    .

    Mike

  • sophista-tiki June 5, 2014 (4:42 am)

    finally free from the gigantic traffic hell the last 4 yrs have been. I don’t care if I ever drive down Delridge to the WS bridge again in my entire life.

  • sammmy June 5, 2014 (8:50 am)

    Do you guys have any information on the South Park Latino Event on the 29th I think?

  • Trickycoolj June 5, 2014 (11:52 am)

    Fantastic news to hear returning from a 2 week vacation off the grid! Looking forward to an easier commute to my office that is at the base of the bridge!!

  • juanita June 23, 2014 (3:36 pm)

    Have you seen the posters for the Gran Festival 2014? It’s all part of the celebration for the re-opening of the bridge. the schedule is at

    http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/SouthParkBridge/AboutTheOpening.aspx

    or you can call 206.941.0464.

    if you don’t live in the neighborhood, you can park in the North Boeing parking lot and there will be shuttle service.

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