Traffic note: Not West Seattle, but you might want to know

7:49 PM: Since this might not be a time of day when you usually check out regional news outlets, we’re mentioning this too: I-5 southbound is closed at the Ship Canal Bridge because of a law-enforcement investigation. Vehicles that were on the bridge at the time are being turned around and cleared off, and radio discussion indicates it’ll be closed for quite a while. So if you are headed this way from north of downtown, make your way to 99, or else way over to 405 and 90. The investigation involves an incident reported to have started as a vehicle fire on that bridge and turned into a state trooper shooting a man – details are still emerging.

8:01 PM: WSDOT has opened the southbound I-5 express lanes to help with the traffic backlog.

10:07 PM: State Patrol tweeted a few minutes ago that the closure isn’t ending any time soon:

11:48 PM: That turned out not to be the case. Just reopened:

7 Replies to "Traffic note: Not West Seattle, but you might want to know"

  • trickycoolj June 16, 2014 (7:56 pm)

    Went to the dentist in Greenlake. Guess I get to hang out with friends longer and have ice cream now!

  • Rick Steel June 16, 2014 (8:12 pm)

    My wife was just stuck in that traffic. Says a bus was involved in a nasty accident.

  • Sara June 16, 2014 (9:25 pm)

    Is this the guy on the bridge who drew a circle and wouldn’t met people pass?

  • Ben June 16, 2014 (9:29 pm)

    Saw your RT of the SPD saying they had ordered all draw bridges remain lowered (https://twitter.com/seattlepd/status/478749877233397760). I thought Coast Guard had sole authority over draw bridges. If municipal authorities can order draw bridges to stay lowered, why not do so at other times as warranted (e.g., rush hour)?

    • WSB June 16, 2014 (9:33 pm)

      Ben, that caught my attention too. Tonight isn’t the night for me to ask about it but tomorrow I will bring it to CM Rasmussen’s attention, since it’s an issue he’s worked on for a long time.

  • Ben June 16, 2014 (11:28 pm)

    Tracy, thanks for following up (at a suitable time) about draw bridge authority!

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