TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Watching what’s up for Thursday

(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
As we keep an eye on what’s happening today – with your help – we’re also looking ahead, so here are two reminders:

*Friday night/Saturday morning, Highway 99 closures – newest details here
*Next Monday-Friday, a key road closure between Highland Park/Puget Ridge and Delridge – details here
*For that road closure, Metro Route 120 effects start TODAY – explained here

8:21 AM: The stalled semi mentioned in comments has been cleared from the westbound lanes of the low bridge, per SDOT. A possible truck problem is now mentioned in e-mail from Nicholas: “A semi missed the turn on Andover to Nucor, and now appears to be stuck on the hill heading back up to Avalon.”

9:28 AM: If you take the 1st Avenue South Bridge on 99 northbound, note that there’s a big SFD callout on East Marginal Way north of the bridge (map) right now, listed as hazmat/spill/leak – no details yet but the callout is likely to affect 99 traffic in that area between bridges, so be forewarned.

10:11 AM: As discussed in comments – here’s what SFD has tweeted about the East Marginal incident: “… a report of 1 patient who felt dizzy & nauseous after opening envelope. … Medic evaluating 1 patient. Envelope islolated. Workers in building being sheltered in place. HazMat team will evaluate envelope.”

MrsL August 15, 2013 (7:46 am)

SDOT tweeted that there’s a stalled semi on the low bridge.

SarahScoot August 15, 2013 (8:21 am)

Yes, I was trying to cross the eastbound low bridge earlier and it was hell. Traffic was moving, but really slowly. Finally I was about to get through the light and officially onto the bridge, when a cop got out of his car, waved through a bunch of cars in front of me, and then stopped at me. Ugh. With no indication of how long it was going to take to clear the issue, we turned around and eventually got on the high bridge.

anonymous August 15, 2013 (9:38 am)

I think there was a small accident in the far right lane on the West Seattle Bridge heading eastbound. I’m sure it’s already cleared up though. Didn’t look too bad. Might’ve just been a stalled car.

christie August 15, 2013 (10:06 am)

yes i work in the building where the Haz Mat incident has occurred. Someone in an office down the hall opened an envelope with white powder in it and got sick. We are being told that we do not have to evacuate at this time so we are hoping that it is not that bad – and some of the fire trucks have left the scene.

WSB August 15, 2013 (10:08 am)

Thanks, Christie, I actually was just coming back to post what SFD had tweeted: “… a report of 1 patient who felt dizzy & nauseous after opening envelope. … Medic evaluating 1 patient. Envelope islolated. Workers in building being sheltered in place. HazMat team will evaluate envelope.”

schwaggy August 15, 2013 (10:09 am)

The white powder incidents across the country are getting tiresome, and costly. How much to roll Seattle Fire:
A5 AIR9 B5 B7 DEP1 E10 E13 E27 HAZ1 L1 L3 M32 SAFT2 STAF10 L7
Just for this one incident, which will most likely turn out to be a hoax. If it’s not, I’ll come back and eat crow.

Christie August 15, 2013 (12:15 pm)

the envelope came back with a negative reading for anything hazardous we are no longer being sheltered in place.

Schwaggy – your comment was not needed as there were over 400 people in our building very worried that something bad had happened. And if you were in this building would you have made that comment?

WSB August 15, 2013 (12:35 pm)

I’m always perplexed about why anyone would question sending a large public-safety response to an incident and THEN scaling back. That’s what we pay them for. Starting small and THEN adding, could cost lives, in anything from fire to toxins. Christie, glad everybody is OK. I got e-mail about this too … even though not technically in West Seattle, as we’ve discussed in other topics, almost everyone here works somewhere else, so incidents particularly within a couple miles’ radius wind up getting mentioned here …

schwaggy August 15, 2013 (1:21 pm)

Calm down folks. I never said I question the response. I said I’m tired of the situations that warrant them. Sorry your morning sucked, Christie. Glad it was nothing serious.

Sorry, comment time is over.