TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday updates; 35th SW blocked for pole problem

February 8, 2016 6:12 am
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 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)

6:12 AM: Good morning – no incidents in/from West Seattle so far. Two reminders:

FAUNTLEROY WAY SPEED LIMIT: The stretch between SW Alaska and California SW is now 30 mph, with signage installed on Saturday as SDOT said it would be.

FERRY SUBSTITUTION: M/V Tillikum is taking the place of M/V Sealth on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth state-ferry run today; its capacity is 87 vehicles, while Sealth’s is 90.

7:06 AM: Crash partly blocking the right lane in NB 1st Ave. So. Bridge.

7:35 AM: WSDOT says that has cleared.

8:35 AM: If you’re headed southbound on 35th from the Triangle or anyplace northbound, you will be diverted at Alaska. A power pole is about to fall over – apparently just rotted through its base, according to SPD, which has the road blocked for about half a block at Alaska until City Light can take care of it. Thanks to the person who texted us about the closure (206-293-6302, any time)!

FullSizeRender (75)

8:43 AM: Added the photo above. Talked to another officer who said the pole rot was part of the problem – the pole getting backed into by a delivery truck was the other part. No ETA on how long for a fix; we’ll check back. The southbound 21 is affected, Metro has tweeted:

9:28 AM: Thanks to Joe and a text tipster for noting that the NB 21 is also being diverted right now – Joe says the City Light crane is on site so the road is blocked both ways at the scene just south of Alaska.

10:01 AM: Metro says northbound is back to normal, southbound remains blocked.

ADDED LATER, SIDE NOTE: For the record – we checked with City Light regarding the ongoing replacement of poles before something like this takes them out. From Scott Thomsen of SCL:

We do have an effort underway to steadily replace old poles that have deteriorated over time.

We have identified about 5,500 poles that currently need to be replaced. This is a backlog that built up as the result of deferred maintenance following the 2000-01 West Coast energy crisis and, more recently, other work associated with new service installations in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities filling the schedules of our crews.

We identify 500 to 600 more poles each year that add to the list of those needing to be replaced. We expect to replace about 1,400 poles a year to steadily eliminate that backlog over several years.

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