West Seattle traffic alerts: Next all-weekend Viaduct closure, and more

Thursday afternoon is when WSDOT and SDOT usually send out the next round of major closure alerts – and here are the biggies for our area for the next few weeks, highlighted by an all-weekend Alaskan Way Viaduct closure in two weeks:

– May 7-10, the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed nightly at SR 99. All westbound traffic will exit at Harbor Island and be detoured via the lower Spokane St roadway/low bridge to West Seattle. The southbound SR 99 ramp to West Seattle will remain open. [This starts at 9 pm each night.]

– Beginning May 9 at 7 PM, expect changes on the Alaskan Way waterfront overnight. Traffic will be moved off of Alaskan Way and will be relocated underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct between S King St and Madison St. On the night of May 9th, S Washington St, Yesler Way, Columbia St and Madison St will be closed. Officers will be on-hand Thursday morning to assist traffic with the new road network and traffic patterns.

– May 18-21, the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR 99) will be closed between Denny Way and S Spokane St in both directions Friday night through Monday morning. All on- and off-ramps will also be closed.

The May 9 mention is the one that goes with the ferry-terminal-reroute video we’ve been featuring here – the big change will kick in the morning of May 10th. Other areas of the city have various smaller closures too, and you can see the complete grid for what’s in the works by going here.

Colleen May 3, 2012 (6:13 pm)

So the sign driving into WS tonight said the bridge was closed those nights-but its actually Spokane Street closed?

WSB May 3, 2012 (6:35 pm)

Colleen – I haven’t seen the signs. This is what’s on the official advisory sent out by SDOT – TR

Colleen May 3, 2012 (8:49 pm)

Thanks T – big shocker, SDOT can’t get signage right for this project.

SDOT_Construction_Coordinator May 4, 2012 (9:12 am)

The Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed, not the lower Spokane roadway. The difference with this closure (compared to past closures) is that the closure is westbound starting at SR 99, not at I-5. Traffic will still be able to access the Spokane Street Viaduct from northbound or southbound I-5, but will be directed to exit at the Harbor Island off-ramp to continue to West Seattle via the lower swing bridge. The work zone is west of the Harbor Island off-ramp. Hope this clears things up!

WSB May 4, 2012 (10:11 am)

How much roadway actually will be closed, then? We have long explained the Spokane Street Viaduct as being the section of the bridge between Highway 99 and I-5 – but this is west of 99? So a short stretch? – TR

SDOT_Construction_Coordinator May 4, 2012 (10:41 am)

Basically, the westbound direction of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed between the Harbor Island off-ramp and the southbound SR 99 on-ramp (the on-ramp remains open). It is work in support of the Spokane Widening project, but technically I suppose, yes, a small piece of the actual WS Bridge would be closed too. The work is a peice of barrier that needs to be formed and poured roughly where SR 99 crosses over the Spokane Street Viaduct.

Colleen May 4, 2012 (3:03 pm)

Thanks – that does actually help a lot – between reading the Spokane Street Viaduct than the Bride, I was lost on what was going on (and actually needed to pay attention!)

denise May 5, 2012 (9:59 am)

Question? It looks like a large section of Alaska way is blocked off by the Ferry Terminal and it is full of cars? Is this blocked off for parking for construction workers? In weaving around the area (scary) I noticed that and was wondering.

bolo May 7, 2012 (2:27 pm)

“May 7-10, the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed nightly at SR 99.”

Does anybody know what time this closure starts? I looked at several pages provided by the link above but found no mention of the time periods.

WSB May 7, 2012 (2:55 pm)

9 pm. I can’t direct link because I have something else on my scratch pad right now but it’s the top item on http://onthemove.seattle.gov – TR

bolo May 7, 2012 (9:43 pm)

Thanks! But it looks like it was cancelled tonight? Came thru S/B 99 to W. Seattle approx. 9:15pm, was clear, no detours.

WSB May 7, 2012 (9:52 pm)

Haven’t heard of any cancellation – from much experience driving late at night in recent months, I can tell you the start times sometimes do vary, despite what was announced. If somebody comes through later tonight and it’s STILL clear, then I might have something to follow up with SDOT about tomorrow … TR

bolo May 8, 2012 (10:18 pm)

Passed thru this entire zone again tonight 9:40pm. The portable electric sign (near the S/B I-5 exit to the WS Bridge) stated there was a detour to exit the bridge ahead, but it was open and clear, no sign of barricades, cones, or any of the usual traffic-herding equipment (except for the sign at the beginning).

Maybe they finished early?

WSB May 8, 2012 (10:54 pm)

Will ask SDOT tomorrow.

Mezzaoui May 8, 2012 (11:48 pm)

Traffic back up on the lower bridge was backing up because of the signals in the intersection to Port Of Seattle. The timing of the green lights should be adjusted.

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