Traffic alert: Viaduct accident closes 1 northbound lane

Thanks to Eddie for the tip, which is verified by Traffic.com: Accident on northbound Viaduct near Seneca. One lane’s closed. 6:49 AM ADDITION: Adding the camera showing the eastbound bridge at the Viaduct exit, so you can check how things look before you leave (the Viaduct remains cameraless). 7:23 AM UPDATE: We can see northbound 99 traffic from the eastbound bridge, and it’s definitely crawling. 8:04 AM UPDATE: No change as we looked onto 99 while heading back on the bridge westbound. 1st and 4th said to be busier than usual but not too bad. Radio traffic report says repairs might keep that Viaduct lane closed all day (we’ll check with SDOT later). 8:20 AM UPDATE: We’re heading downtown ourselves for a while; will leave this item atop the page so you can share comments and check cameras (find more on our Traffic page). Damage photo and original crash info here. 10:25 AM UPDATE: We’re just back from downtown. Traffic still looks sluggish northbound; heading in, we took 1st and 4th to get to the south edge of downtown, and it took half an hour to get from the 1st offramp to 5th/Cherry! Will post a separate update when we find out from SDOT what’s expected for the rest of the day.

Mr. JT March 3, 2008 (6:53 am)

It just opened. Left lane is blocked for repairs, but traffic is moving.

WSB March 3, 2008 (6:56 am)

Thanks; still worthy of watching since when things get really crunchy on the viaduct in the 7:30-8:30 vicinity, even one lane of blockage can cause trouble.

RobertSeattle March 3, 2008 (7:08 am)

No problems for the 56 express bus that gets downtown aroun 6:50 – we had a moment of slow up, but not a problem. Looks like DOT was repairing a light pole.

Indaknow March 3, 2008 (7:26 am)

I drove right past this. Some car took out about a 3-foot wide portion of the concrete guard rail along the left lane of the viaduct. It was not bad getting through at 6:50 (It probably cost me 3 minutes) but I know that will be a different story soon. They did have some kind of crane-thing around the light pole as well.

Jen March 3, 2008 (7:30 am)

99 northbound is backed up well south of the on ramp from the WS bridge and moving relatively slowly, but at least it’s moving.

Looks like the bus I’m on will be about 15 minutes late getting into downtown.

Mr. JT March 3, 2008 (7:42 am)

We need to get a picture of the viaduct right now and show the Mayor next time he proposes tearing it down.

What a fiasco that is out there.

Jack Loblaw March 3, 2008 (7:48 am)

If we had a monorail it would fly right over this mess. Oh that’s right Grid Lock Greg decided for us that we didn’t want one after many yes votes and then waiting for one no vote. Way to go Greg! I think that it time to look at serious transportation options in other cities for example it costs about 7 or 8 GBP to enter the congestion zone in downtown London. Maybe we need that here. I can guarantee that most of the cheapskates that vote down transportation bills would be on a bus or in a van pool in a heartbeat.

WSB March 3, 2008 (8:07 am)

Interestingly, the City Council is scheduled to hear Viaduct updates this afternoon, 3 pm.

Anna March 3, 2008 (8:59 am)

Left home (delridge and thistle) at 8:05. Currently its 8:55 and I am inching along the viaduct south of safeco. This is the worst traffic I have been stuck in for a long time! Neighbors – allow extra commuting time, this traffic sucks!

Sue March 3, 2008 (9:07 am)

I did a little better than Anna, but it’s still a mess. Left Dawson & Fauntleroy on the 54X around 8:05 and got to Seneca around 8:45. Was glad I was on a bus (rather than driving) so I could zone out for a bit. Still a big gaping hole in the guardrail. People standing around as if they’re trying to figure out what to do, but doesn’t look like they’re actually doing anything.

ALS March 3, 2008 (10:38 am)

That photo on komotv.com is scary! The driver is lucky he did not go over the rail and fall to the street below!

Sage K March 3, 2008 (10:48 am)

Holy Crap! komotv.com says that the engine went over the viaduct and fell to the street below. Dang it was lucky that didn’t fall on anyone walking or in a car.

Jeez how fast do you have to be going to do that? And how do you do that and walk away with basically no injuries?

You total your car and the viaduct but yourself and your passenger are fine. Either that’s a miracle, you had some substance in your system to relax you or you have one hell of a set of safety features in your car.

Michael March 3, 2008 (3:45 pm)

Unfortunately, this morning’s traffic demonstrates the difficulty of living without the viaduct: drivers were “self-rerouting” to 1st avenue along with Metro-rerouted buses. As a result 1st was moving slower than the traffic on 99 – especially at the choke point where two lanes become one at the south edge of Pioneer Square.

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