Today was meeting day for the informal West Seattle community task force that SDOT convenes monthly to discuss the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project. One big message from the project team: The workers on the bridge are very close to the traffic lanes now (we took the photo above from the 1st Avenue South exit while headed downtown Thursday morning), so please, please heed the speed limit. There are some other long-range project updates we’ll share in a separate report later, but right now, the official list of upcoming closures discussed at the meeting has just arrived in news-release format. (Side note: Regarding the traffic backups and signage problems last Tuesday night, SDOT saw and heard the comments, and is working on better signage for upcoming closures.) Note that this list of dates also includes the scheduled reopening of the 4th Avenue S. offramp from the eastbound bridge, likely May 22nd, at which time the 1st Avenue S. ramp will close for about a month, as bridge deck work shifts westward. Here’s this afternoon’s announcement:

There will be lane closures on the Spokane Street Viaduct and on surface streets next week for the viaduct widening project. All westbound lanes on the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed at SR99 early on Tuesday morning and overnight on Wednesday, with traffic exiting at Harbor Island and continuing over the lower Spokane Street swing bridge to West Seattle. Then overnight on Thursday, westbound lanes of the viaduct will be closed between I-5 and SR99. All week the southbound SR99 off-ramp to West Seattle will remain open, however, providing the opportunity to avoid these westbound closures. On Thursday night, in addition to the westbound closures, the eastbound lanes of the viaduct will be reduced to one lane overnight. There will also be some surface street closures next week. Here are the closure details:

Monday, May 14 – Thursday, May 17

· The intersection of Sixth Avenue S and S Spokane Street will be restricted to one lane in each direction, both for north/south traffic and east/west traffic, from 9 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning.

Tuesday, May 15

· The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed from 2 a.m. until 5 a.m. at SR 99. All westbound traffic will be forced to exit at Harbor Island and be detoured over the lower Spokane Street swing bridge to West Seattle.

· The intersection of East Marginal Way S and S Spokane Street will be closed to southbound traffic from 2 a.m. until 5 a.m. Southbound traffic will be detoured to the west.

Wednesday, May 16

· The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed overnight at SR 99 from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. All westbound traffic will be forced to exit at Harbor Island and will be detoured over the lower Spokane Street swing bridge to West Seattle.

Thursday, May 17

· The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct between I-5 and SR 99 will be closed overnight from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Friday morning.
· Eastbound traffic on the Spokane Street Viaduct will be reduced to one lane overnight from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Friday morning.

The Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project is now approaching 90% completion, with a current projection that work will be finished in early September. Work began in mid-April to repair and resurface the road deck of the old viaduct structure. This required the temporary shift of eastbound traffic onto the new adjacent viaduct structure in order to give the contractor access to the old road deck in order to make the repairs.

The road deck repairs have required the temporary closure of the eastbound off-ramp of the Spokane Street Viaduct at Fourth Avenue South. It is now expected that this off-ramp will reopen on Tuesday, May 22, or Wednesday, May 23, at which point the work will require the closure of the eastbound off-ramp at First Avenue South for approximately 4 weeks. (Until the bridge deck repairs are completed, it is likely that one or the other of these two eastbound off-ramps will have to be closed; however, at least one of them will remain open at all times.)

(Photos courtesy SDOT)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Tomorrow starts the first full week of realigned traffic on the Spokane Street Viaduct – the official name for the easternmost section of the West Seattle Bridge, between Highway 99 and I-5.

After two weekdays with the SSV’s newly built north side handling all four lanes of bridge traffic, during the final phase of three years of work to widen the bridge, project-team leaders promised “tweaks” to the signage for one aspect of the realignment that caused more upheaval than expected – the new restrictions on the eastbound onramp that deposits vehicles on the bridge right before 99.

Those vehicles are now only allowed to go to northbound 99, rather than onto the SSV, but as WSB commenters noted, some semi-trucks, either out of surprise or defiance, were running through the upright lane markers on Thursday. SDOT asked the contractor to bring in some “double-collared” orange barrels on Friday, but that didn’t deter everyone, acknowledged project manager Stuart Goldsmith; project engineer Darin Stephens even got video of one truck driving on through.

We talked with Goldsmith, Stephens, and community-relations rep Paul Elliott during the second meeting of a community task force that’s getting periodic briefings on where the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project stands in its final months. Friday afternoon’s meeting was scheduled before SDOT knew it would be making the lane switch on Thursday, but the timing proved fortuitous for discussing the changeover, as well as other updates.

SDOT acknowledges it will need to do more toward “getting the trucks to behave,” though it says jersey barriers are not an option, in case emergency vehicles had to get through. Task force participant Dave Montoure, West 5 proprietor and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board chair, said it sounded as if the drivers were caught by surprise; going onto northbound 99 could be a costly detour if they are on a tightly scheduled run. He and another community participant, Vlad Oustimovitch, wondered how much outreach had been done to let truckers know. Goldsmith said the Port of Seattle was indeed informed about the changes for truckers, with the intent for them to share it with drivers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it got to all of them.

Flyers or posters available/visible at the terminals might help, it was suggested. SDOT says it’s working on signage that could be placed further west to catch truckers’ attention sooner, and they’ve changed the messaging on the existing signs to make it clearer. At the “point of decision” before going up to the elevated structure, a sign will be placed saying “99 only.” The project team says the signs should be in place sometime Monday. Last but not least on this topic – if you weren’t clear (we weren’t), the ramp restrictions will last for the duration of the project, till everything’s done – they are not a short-term change like the closure of the 4th Avenue ramp.

Speaking of ramps, the 1st Avenue South on-/off-ramp on the westbound side of the Spokane Street Viaduct was another major topic of the task-force meeting.

They say all of the steel is up and erected for the new ramp; the city has said that the girders were a source of major delay for getting the ramp done. In terms of whether anyone will be penalized for that, all the SDOT reps would say is that it is currently a dispute to be settled between the contractor and subcontractor.

Beyond the steel, they are doing “form work now on the onramp side of the “Y”-shaped structure, with the deck-concrete pour expected in early May, in hopes the onramp will be available to emergency vehicles coming to West Seattle from off-peninsula in case of major incidents, weeks before it’s actually open to regular traffic (which can’t be done till the entire project is complete, because of a lack of merging space, though the offramp side may open sooner).

Last but not least, overall timetable for the project was discussed. As has been reported, it’s contingent on how much work the old bridge deck requires before resurfacing. Here’s photographic proof of the shape it’s in:

Engineer Stephens showed spots where the existing concrete has worn through to the steel bars – and even some spots where the steel bars also have broken off/worn away. Project manager Goldsmith says that “in an ideal world, the entire bridge would have been replaced” – but that wasn’t considered to be feasible or affordable.

Preparing for work on the old side of the bridge, they’ll be doing “hydrodemolition” – a high-pressure, low-flow “scarification” to rough up the deck in preparation for resurfacing.

It will be done via vehicles – we asked what it would look like, and it was explained as what looks like the back of a flatbed truck plus a vehicle about the size of an ice-rink Zamboni; this could start as soon as Wednesday. They will even need to replace the steel bar in some spots. “It’s going to be a big operation,” said Stephens. “It’s going to get taken care of, and we’re going to do it right.” But since they don’t know exactly how much time it will take, that’s why the estimate is now “late summer.” The 4th Avenue South offramp is still expected to be closed for about 8 weeks, until the old bridge deck work in that area is done, and they can move further west, closing the 1st Avenue South ramp instead. The project team says that while that ramp is closed, it’ll get some resurfacing.

Bottom line, they still don’t know enough to estimate the project completion date with something more specific than “late summer.”

“We know it’s been a long haul,” acknowledged Goldsmith. “It’s understandable that a lot of people in the community are antsy. I wish we could go faster, but things have to be done sequentially.”

Our coverage of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project, dating back almost four years, is archived here, newest to oldest.

(No cameras in the construction zone, so here’s the SDOT webcam view looking toward it)
5 AM: If you use the Spokane Street Viaduct – the West Seattle Bridge between I-5 and Highway 99 – this is the morning a big, though temporary, change is supposed to kick in, as of right about now: All four lanes of traffic will be using the newly built north side of the elevated structure, which means …

*Narrower lanes (10 feet)
*25 mph speed limit
*No eastbound access to the 4th Avenue S. offramp for at least the first six weeks

This is all for the biggest part of the final phase of the three-plus-year Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project – rehabbing the original elevated structure, to the south of the newly built one. When it’s all done, the new north side will carry the westbound lanes and the original south side will carry the eastbound lanes. Meantime, the tighter-squeeze temporary configuration will likely mean slower going, so we’ll watch this morning’s commute closely, for starters. And (once your commute is over) let us know how it goes for you.

(Photo shared by Ben)
7:46 AM NOTE: Commenters are talking about one other change mentioned in the city reminder from yesterday afternoon:

In addition, access to the eastbound Spokane Viaduct from the eastbound Harbor Island on-ramp will be restricted – the ramp will only provide access to northbound SR99—until the eastbound traffic is moved back onto the refurbished structure in the late summer.

8:17 AM UPDATE: Text (206-293-6302 any time) and Twitter tips say there’s a multi-car “fender bender” in the right eastbound lane of the Spokane Street Viaduct, with “huge backups” ensuing.

8:47 AM UPDATE: Police are handling the crash – units were going from West Seattle, but were called off when closer units said they would handle – but we haven’t heard whether it’s been cleared yet. Multiple reports say the bridge trouble has backed up approaches including Delridge and 35th.

9:18 AM UPDATE: The bridge crash has JUST been cleared – it was announced on the scanner, “All lanes of the eastbound West Seattle Bridge are now open.”

(Screengrab of lower-bridge opening, 9:11 am)
However, the low bridge has been out of commission for a while, as a barge goes through…

Pilot/photographer Long B. Nguyen shared that view from a few days ago, looking east over the Spokane St. Viaduct, toward Beacon Hill and I-5. This evening we have an update on the plan to move all SSV traffic onto its newly built north side, so that, as part of the SSV Widening Project, the original south side can be repaired and resurfaced before it’s all joined for good. You might have seen the postal-mail brochure that arrived in many mailboxes on Monday (if not, see it here); like the story we published last Friday, it said that the switchover MIGHT happen as soon as Thursday. We have just confirmed with SDOT that it **IS** on for 5 am Thursday (following an eastbound overnight closure). Once it kicks in, travel lanes will be 10 feet wide, so the speed limit will be reduced to 25 mph, both ways. Also, the 4th Avenue South ramp will be closed for two months or so (but 1st will be open).

SIDE NOTE: News just came in about another project you can see in the aerial photo – at lower right, the $52 million East Marginal Way Grade Separation, built by the Port of Seattle, is officially complete and there’s a dedication ceremony at 2 pm tomorrow.

That’s a recent view of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project work zone, with the new 1st Avenue South on/offramp on the right, courtesy of Gatewood pilot/photographer Long Bach Nguyen. Tonight, we have the latest SDOT update on closures planned as part of the project:

The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct between I-5 and SR 99 will be closed three nights next week, Monday through Wednesday, April 2-4, from 10 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning. This will close direct access to West Seattle via the Spokane Street Viaduct from both northbound and southbound I-5. (Motorists traveling southbound on SR 99 will still be able to access the off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge.)

Southbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should detour by exiting I-5 at S Forest Street, turning right (northbound) onto Sixth Avenue S, then turning left (westbound) at S Lander Street, turning left again (southbound) at First Avenue S, turning right (westbound) at S Hanford Street, turning left (southbound) onto East Marginal Way S, and finally turning right (westbound) onto the lower S Spokane Street roadway and across the swing bridge to West Seattle. Northbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should exit the freeway at Sixth Avenue S, and then follow the same detour route outlined above.

Other upcoming closures in the immediate vicinity include:

Monday, April 2

· The southbound lane on East Marginal Way at Duwamish Avenue S will be diverted from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. for paving. Expect some possible congestion, but all turning and through movements will be permitted. A flagger will be present to facilitate the movement of traffic.

Monday, April 2 – Thursday, April 5

· The eastbound on-ramp from Harbor Island to the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed each night from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning. Traffic will be detoured via lower S/SW Spokane Street to the I-5 on-ramps.

Monday, April 2 – Friday, May 4

· There will be a 24/7 round-the-clock partial intersection closure at East Marginal Way S and S Spokane Street in order for concrete paving of the intersection. The northern half of the intersection will be closed the first two weeks, during which time the northbound traffic will be routed underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Northbound traffic wishing to turn west at S Spokane Street will be U-turned further north in order to reach Harbor Island and/or West Seattle. (Eastbound lower S Spokane Street will remain open.) Southbound traffic will take a short detour to the west before returning to southbound East Marginal Way S.

The following two weeks northbound traffic will be restored through the intersection, although northbound to westbound turns will continue to be detoured as outlined in the paragraph above.

Find out more about the project, which is scheduled to be done this summer, and get on its mailing list for alerts, by going to seattle.gov/spokane.

(The westernmost aqua spur is the new Harbor Island ramp – click for larger image)
An alert for westbound drivers on the West Seattle Bridge – Another component of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project is ready to open. SDOT has just announced that the new Harbor Island offramp from the westbound bridge will open tomorrow. Here’s what’s on the project website:

… on Saturday morning, March 17, the old westbound exit to Harbor Island will be closed and the new off-ramp will open. Signage will direct motorists wishing to take this exit, but it should be noted that the new off-ramp begins east of SR 99, whereas the old-ramp began west of SR 99.

Meantime, the 1st Avenue offramp on the eastbound SSV is still months away. We’ll be adding more project updates from the first meeting of a new informal task force that SDOT promised to form after the communications crisis that complicated a daylong bridge closure in January. SDOT reps at the meeting say the new Harbor Island offramp will open early in the morning – no hard-and-fast time, but as soon as crews are ready, 6 am or so.

ADDED 6:10 PM: SDOT has sent a news release with not only the ramp opening we mentioned, but also a reminder about tonight’s bridge closure and other changes ahead – read on:

The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct between I-5 and SR 99 will be closed again tonight (March 16) from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. This will close direct access to West Seattle via the Spokane Street Viaduct from both northbound and southbound I-5. (Motorists traveling southbound on SR 99 will still be able to access the off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge.)

Southbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should detour by exiting I-5 at S Forest Street, and then follow the detoured sign route of heading west on S Forest, right on Sixth Avenue S, left onto S Lander St, left again onto First Avenue S, right at S Hanford Street, left at East Marginal Way S, and then right at S Spokane Street onto the lower Spokane Swing Bridge and into West Seattle. Northbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should exit the freeway at Sixth Avenue S, and then from Sixth Avenue S follow the detour outlined above.

On Saturday morning, the old westbound exit to Harbor Island will be closed and the new off-ramp will open. Signage will direct motorists wishing to take this exit, but it should be noted that the new off-ramp begins east of SR 99, whereas the old-ramp began west of SR 99.

Other closures for the coming week are listed below:

Monday, March 19 – Wednesday, March 21

· Westbound access to the Lower Spokane Swing Bridge will be closed overnight, due to a closure of westbound lower S Spokane Street at E Marginal Way S, from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning. Traffic to West Seattle will be detoured via the First Avenue S Bridge. (This closure is necessary for the demolition of the old westbound Harbor Island off-ramp, which has been replaced.)

· First Avenue S at the intersection with S Spokane Street will be closed overnight, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning. Northbound traffic will be detoured east on lower (surface) S Spokane Street to Fourth Avenue S, at which point motorists can turn to head north. Southbound traffic will be detoured west at S Hanford Street.

Monday, March 19 – Thursday, March 22

· A single lane of southbound Fourth Avenue S will be closed at S Spokane Street during the day, from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 21

· The eastbound First Avenue S off-ramp from the West Seattle Bridge will be closed overnight, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Thursday morning. The Fourth Avenue S off-ramp will remain open, providing access to motorists wishing to exit into SODO and/or downtown.

Friday, March 23

· Westbound access to the Lower Spokane Swing Bridge will be closed overnight, due to a closure of westbound lower S Spokane Street at E Marginal Way S, from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning. Traffic to West Seattle will be detoured via the First Avenue S Bridge. (This closure is necessary for the demolition of the old westbound Harbor Island off-ramp, which has been replaced.)

· First Avenue S at the intersection with S Spokane Street will be closed overnight, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning. Northbound traffic will be detoured east on lower (surface) S Spokane Street to Fourth Avenue S, at which point motorists can turn to head north. Southbound traffic will be detoured west at S Hanford Street.

· The eastbound First Avenue S off-ramp from the West Seattle Bridge will be closed overnight, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Thursday morning. The Fourth Avenue S off-ramp will remain open, providing access to motorists wishing to exit into SODO and/or downtown.

The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation on the Spokane Street Viaduct (the elevated roadway between the West Seattle Bridge and I-5) will close the viaduct to westbound traffic between I-5 and SR 99 on Thursday and Friday nights, March 15 and 16 from 10 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning. This will close direct access to West Seattle via the Spokane Street Viaduct from both northbound and southbound I-5. (Motorists traveling southbound on SR 99 will still be able to access the off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge.)

Southbound traffic from I-5 wishing to reach West Seattle can detour by exiting I-5 at S Forest Street, turning right (northbound) onto Sixth Avenue S, then turning left (westbound) onto S Lander Street, turning left again (southbound) at First Avenue S, then turning right (westbound) at S Hanford, turning left onto E Marginal Way S, and finally turning right (westbound) onto the lower S Spokane Street roadway and across the swing bridge into West Seattle. Northbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should exit the freeway at the Sixth Avenue S off-ramp, and then follow the same detour route outlined above. Detour signs will help motorists follow the designated route.

The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation on the Spokane Street Viaduct (the raised roadway at the eastern end of the West Seattle Bridge) Widening Project will institute another round of nighttime roadway or lane closures over the next week, each necessary to move the project towards expected completion this coming summer.

The previously announced closure this weekend of the intersection of First Avenue S and S Spokane Street has been canceled. There will be no closures this weekend, March 3-4.

Friday, March 2

· Eastbound traffic on the Spokane Street Viaduct will be reduced to one lane between the SR99 off-ramp and Fourth Avenue S from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Saturday morning.

· The First Avenue S off-ramp will be closed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Saturday morning, but the Fourth Avenue S off-ramp will remain open. Access to I-5 will be maintained.

· First Avenue S at the intersection with S Spokane Street will be closed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Saturday morning. Northbound traffic will be detoured at S Spokane Street to Fourth Avenue S. Southbound traffic will be west at S Hanford Street.

· The eastbound on-ramp from Harbor Island to the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Saturday morning. Traffic will be detoured via lower S Spokane Street/East Marginal Way S.

· Eastbound lower Spokane Street will be closed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Saturday morning between East Marginal Way S and First Avenue S.

Monday, March 5 – Friday, March 9

· Eastbound traffic on the Spokane Street Viaduct will be reduced to one lane between the SR 99 off-ramp and Fourth Avenue S nightly from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning.

· The First Avenue S off-ramp will be closed nightly from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning, but the Fourth Avenue S off-ramp will remain open. Access to I-5 will be maintained.

· Eastbound lower Spokane Street will be closed nightly from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning between East Marginal Way S and First Avenue S.

ORIGINAL STORY: Just in from SDOT – this will affect eastbound drivers this weekend:

The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation on the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening project will be closing the intersection of First Avenue S at S Spokane Street this coming weekend in order to repave the southern half of the intersection.

The intersection will be closed to all traffic beginning Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. and will reopen on Monday, March 5, at 5 a.m. The eastbound First Avenue off-ramp from the West Seattle Freeway will also be closed. Motorists wishing to exit to SODO can still use the Fourth Avenue off-ramp, which provides motorists the option of then driving either north or south on Fourth Avenue S.

Southbound traffic on First Avenue S will be detoured west at S Hanford Street. Northbound traffic on First Avenue S will be detoured east at S Dawson Street, and then north on Fourth Avenue S.

One week after our in-depth update on the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project – which has been closing the east end of the West Seattle Bridge most weeknights lately – there’s a milestone of sorts: Crews are starting to install long-delayed steel girders that SDOT said had been holding up the new 1st Avenue South on/offramp. Brad tipped us off via Twitter:

Before stopping nearby for the photo you see above, we sent an inquiry to SDOT, asking if the resumption of work meant those girders were finally arriving. Spokesperson Rick Sheridan‘s reply:

You are correct. The installation of the steel girders for the First Avenue S on- and off-ramp is now underway.

The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation on the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project began this week installing the steel girders necessary for constructing the First Avenue S on- and off-ramp. The installation is taking place during the night.

After much delay, half of the girders required for the ramp arrived from their source in Montana and the contractor expects it will take several weeks to install these. The other half of the girders has not yet arrived. With the full installation of these girders, the remaining construction of the ramp can proceed.

The ramp is expected to be available as an offramp sometime this spring – but not as an onramp from 1st until the project is virtually complete, probably late July. Meantime, construction closures continue – the newest update is here – and keep in mind, this is SEPARATE from the project at the WEST end of the WS Bridge, which is the Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit Project, responsible for closures of its own (including all day this coming Sunday). That project too should be complete this summer.

(Spokane St. Viaduct work zone, photographed by Long B. Nguyen; click for longer/wider view)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The final phase of work on the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project will NOT require a lane reduction after all.

We talked with SDOT managers at the Muni Tower downtown this afternoon, following up on last week’s announcement at the Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group meeting that the work on the east end of the West Seattle Bridge would require at least six weeks with one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes (reported here last Thursday).

Since then, SDOT says, they have figured out how to fit two lanes each way onto the new half of the SSV; they say they had been hoping all along to work that out, but it didn’t happen until after that briefing last week.

Right now, traffic in the project area between 99 and I-5 is flowing partly on new construction and partly on old:

In late March, when all traffic is shifted onto the new structure on the north side of the old one, the configuration will look like this:

SDOT also says they have NO daytime closures scheduled currently – neither weekend nor weekday – but reiterate that if any are necessary before the project’s completion in mid-summer, the notification and signage will follow the new guidelines spelled out in a report we brought you here last Friday. It resulted from a review of what happened Saturday, January 28th, with traffic backups much of the day because of what was supposed to be a weekend-long closure of the eastbound SSV, a surprise to many because there was no warning signage either ahead of time or during the shutdown.

We have more to add to this story – about the project’s overall status and some questions that have arisen along the way – but wanted to get this news out first; we’ll add the rest here shortly.

ADDED 6:30 PM: As promised, the rest of the story:

We met at the Muni Tower with project manager Stuart Goldsmith, capital projects/roadway structures director Mike Terrell (who wrote the memo about the new informational procedures in case of daytime bridge closures), and communications director Rick Sheridan.

Goldsmith explained that there are variables once they move all the traffic onto the new structure next month so they can “repair and repave” the old one – “We won’t know its condition till we get there. We have done examinations and testing,” but that still can’t answer all the questions about what kind of repair work it’ll take. And those variables in turn mean they can’t say for sure when it’ll all be done – the contract goes till the end of July, barring any further delays out of the contractor’s control, and if they miss the deadline, the contractor will owe “liquidated damages,” according to Terrell.

They’re still not expecting to fully open the new 1st Avenue South ramp from the westbound SSV until the end of the project. It will be usable as an offramp weeks before it can be opened as an onramp; that’s because the onramp requires the “transition lane” space that won’t be available until traffic is flowing again on both sides of the structure, old and new. As for when it will open as an offramp – they’re still waiting for those steel girders mentioned here back in November. Goldsmith says the subcontractor in Montana who is responsible for them has “had a lot of problems getting (them) exactly correct” but “we think we have everything (now) worked out” and the girders may be “releas(ed) from the factory” soon. They say the steel is responsible for much more of the delay than the concrete re-do required when an alignment problem was discovered in the ramp’s very early construction stages.

So when all the traffic is on the new structure for a few months, how will vehicles get to one of the offramps on the other side (SDOT promises either 1st or 4th will be open at any given time)? “Special chutes,” explains Goldsmith. The routing might be a little odd at times – “we don’t really know how the final paving is going to go, and the west end is the trickiest – it’s going to be messy” – but they’ll do their best to keep things moving.

If you’re wondering how tight a squeeze it will be with four lanes all on the new north structure – SDOT says they’ll be 10-foot-wide lanes, and that’s only six inches narrower than the official width. No shoulder, of course. But for comparison’s sake – the Aurora Bridge has lanes that are nine-and-a-half feet wide.

We asked about the uneven surface noticed when traffic first was directed onto part of the new structure back in December (as reported, shown, and discussed here). The SDOT reps point out that currently, you’re driving on what will be the shoulder of the north side, as well as the section connecting to the 1st Avenue South ramp. They say it’s also tricky to match the “new bridge … essentially to the height of the old one,” with drainage adjustments required among other things. However, they also noted that SDOT hasn’t “accepted it yet from the contractor” – no final inspection yet – so there’s still a chance to make changes if real problems are discovered as it’s all being connected in the final stretch. (By the way, in case you’re wondering, there is no current plan to extend the transit lane on the eastbound side, though it was considered.)

Bottom line – the three-fifths-of-a-mile-long project is “more than 80 percent complete” and expected to conclude on or under budget. And beneath the newly widened SSV, there’s one more phase you might notice – an art project that will paint a “good number” of the support columns: “Stencils, patterns, some abstract, some historic, some wildlife …”

Again, no date is set yet for shifting everything onto the north side, with two lanes each way, but it’s projected for late March. We’ll bring you updates when new info is available.

P.S. **No West Seattle Bridge closures scheduled this weekend**, once tonight’s eastbound SSV and Fauntleroy Expressway closures end by 5 am (the nighttime closures continue next week).

3:08 PM: After hours of weekday-magnitude backups (discussed here) on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge because of what was supposed to be a weekend-long closure of the EB Spokane Street Viaduct section – it’s done early, SDOT just announced. They say that section of the bridge is now reopening for full use. There will be one more closure before the weekend is out – 12:01 am to 5 am Monday morning.

3:58 PM: SDOT’s news release, e-mailed, confirming the reopening:

Completing required work early, a contractor for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has now reopened the eastbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct.

The next eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct full closure will occur Monday, January 30, from approximately 12:01 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Motorists heading eastbound will be detoured off the viaduct at either the First Ave S or Fourth Ave S exits, and will be able to use the lower Spokane Street roadway to reach I-5.