Thanks to Rhonda Porter of The Mortgage Porter (WSB sponsor) for the tip: Accident on the westbound high bridge, west side of the rise, apparently involving a truck that lost its load. You can see the backup from this SDOT camera pointing east:
3:06 PM EYEWITNESS UPDATE FROM WSB TEAM MEMBER: What the truck spilled was a load of bricks, so the cleanup’s taking a while. The westbound backup goes all the way back to the exit from I-5.
Per my partner who works next to the bridge, the low bridge is currently closed due to a malfunction, so the upper bridge or looping through White Center are the only options.
The lower bridge reopened a little while ago, according to my husband. He was trying to get downtown by bike and had to jump on a bus instead to get around it. He said he heard it was stuck in the opened position for about 45 minutes or so.
I love the WSB! I commute by scooter and my husband by bike so we were concerned. Thanks for the info!
Of course nothing on the dot page by the way. Maybe one day we will register on their radar!?
I am checking with SDOT on the low bridge just to be sure; what a nightmare that’ll be if that’s closed right now too.
The SODO Traffic Alert list sent out an email that said (in part) at 2:42:
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“The low-level Spokane Street Bridge was briefly malfunctioning, and temporarily closed to both vehicle and marine traffic. The problem has been corrected and the bridge re-opened to traffic.”
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However, the alert that was just sent at 3:06 says:
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“The West Seattle High Level Bridge is still closed to all lanes, but one, westbound due to debris across the roadway. The police are estimating that the lanes will remain closed until about 3:20pm. This is likely to add to the
afternoon commute. Plan your travels accordingly! We will keep you updated.”
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The traffic cameras, at 3:35pm, don’t seem to suggest that it was cleared up by 3:20. Hopefully by the time I head home in an hour via bus, things will be more normal.
I’ll post a separate update – just talked to Peg at SDOT. Low bridge definitely OK again, that was an electrical problem that didn’t last long. But the debris clearing on the high bridge, she says, will take at least another half hour, and since the backup still stretches all the way back to I-5, it’s gonna be a mess well into rush hour. Plan evasive action …
Delridge folks — stay to the right! The lane closures occur AFTER the Delridge way exit. :)
I was just caught in this when I exited from 99 North. It probably took me about 10-15 minutes to get past it and it looked like they were just about to clean up the last scoop of bricks (at 3:40).
The worst part of this was watching people, who could CLEARLY see that the right lane was obstructed ahead, line jump by speeding all the way up in the right lane and then cutting into the middle lane ahead of twenty cars that were waiting patiently. I don’t know why it even surprises me when adults act like selfish children.
The worst part of this was watching people, who could CLEARLY see that the right lane was obstructed ahead, line jump by speeding all the way up in the right lane and then cutting into the middle lane ahead of twenty cars that were waiting patiently. I don’t know why it even surprises me when adults act like selfish children.
Chris, this is one of my BIGGEST peeves about that bridge, heck ANYWHERE there is a line of cars. They do it in the morning EVERYDAY trying to get on to 99 North. This morning I saw a person (I hope you read this!!!), who was ALREADY in the right lane to get to 99, changed lanes to the “Bus” lane, speed past the rest of us waiting, then FORCE his way BACK into the right lane!!!
If SPD wants to raise their funds all they need to do is ticket the a$$holes that do that EVERY moning and SPD could fund themselves!!
For toomanyratsinacageakaWS and others who might not know – you can always check the SDOT News page for Traffic Advisories and News Updates
Thanks Allie G and others for DOT tips. I check this page daily http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/ and click on the incidents link in the upper left. There was no mention of any issues with the upper or lower bridge between 3 and 3:30 when I checked it a few times. I guess not all areas of the dot are updated with the same info?
Frank and Chris – too many rats in a cage says I see this every day too and it upsets me as well. I fear it will just get worse with more people moving to Seattle and W Seattle in particular. I don’t remember this many a_holes on the road even just 10 years ago.
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