TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday alerts; looking ahead & back; bridge crash; stuck truck blocks Fauntleroy ferry dock for hour-plus

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:34 AM: Good morning! We start with a traffic alert from WSDOT today, if you use the 1st Avenue S. Bridge:

On SR 99 northbound & southbound at 1st Ave S Bridge all lanes closed today intermittently due bridge maintenance.

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) May 7, 2015

Looking further ahead, and farther north, remember this weekend’s closures on Highway 99 from the Battery Street Tunnel north to Queen Anne – details are here.

AND NOW A LOOK BACK … this week’s “Traffic Throwback Thursday” view from the Seattle Municipal Archives:

(Click for the much-larger view on the SMA site.) The archives describe that as “West Spokane Re-deck,” dated October 6, 1958.

7:04 AM UPDATE: And now back to the present: A crash on the eastbound bridge, toward the crest, reportedly involving a car and motorcycle. (added) Two lanes are blocked, SDOT says:

A crash on the W Seattle Bridge EB before SR 99 has closed the 2 center lanes, Expect long delays and use alt routes pic.twitter.com/Ly1zWTftvl

— seattledot (@seattledot) May 7, 2015

7:08 AM: Over the scanner, we hear arriving officers say it’s a “minor injury” situation.

7:26 AM: One SFD unit is still at the crash scene, as you can see via the top-left image atop this story. (And a moment later …) Now, just one police car and what appears to be the motorcycle, with one lane blocked.

7:41 AM: As the camera shows, a tow truck is now on scene.

7:50 AM: Scanner: “Bridge is now clear, all lanes.”

8:18 AM: New problem. From Washington State Ferries: “Service to and from the Fauntleroy terminal is temporarily suspended due to necessary repairs.” This was just posted on the WSF website minutes ago, just as we were investigating a texter’s report of what seemed to be an interruption in service. More as we get it – we’re headed to the dock to find out more.

8:31 AM: No word from our crew yet but Melissa says in comments that the Fauntleroy dock problem is a stuck truck.

8:39 AM: Stuck propane truck, our crew has learned. Somewhat “high-centered” on the ramp, we’re told.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
That’s the front of the tow truck you see, with the propane truck behind it.

8:57 AM: WSF tells us they have engineers “inspecting the hinge and span.”

9:01 AM: Vehicles appear to be loading onto the ferry now – we’ve been watching one particular vehicle in the waiting-to-load lanes and it’s advanced. (Update: It advanced a ways and stopped. So we’re not entirely sure.)

9:08 AM: WSF says the “transfer span” is clear and operations are “back to normal.” With some catching up ahead, of course.

9:18 AM: And now … a stalled vehicle reported on the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct “just south” of the Seneca exit, according to radio discussion monitored via scanner.

2:48 PM: New trouble, as reported separately – a crash shutting down both directions of the Battery Street Tunnel, so avoid that section of 99 TFN.

miws May 7, 2015 (7:02 am)

A ten day old me was just up the hill, almost directly behind the Bridge on that day. :-)

Mike

Natalie May 7, 2015 (7:04 am)

There is an accident on the bridge. The ambulance just got there. It is right at the top of the hill in the middle lane.

WSB May 7, 2015 (7:05 am)

Just added that. Thanks.

Derek May 7, 2015 (7:23 am)

Spokane street bridge currently is closed for a marine crossing

Blbl May 7, 2015 (7:27 am)

And now of course the lower bridge is closed to traffic.

jk May 7, 2015 (7:27 am)

Wsdot…get flexible. The 1st ave bridge closure plus the accident on the Ws bridge is causing a mess. Please open the lower!

WSB May 7, 2015 (7:31 am)

Closure now down to one lane; motorcycle and police car still there. As we noted above, officers said via scanner that it was a “minor injury” situation.

chelle May 7, 2015 (7:33 am)

Horrible week for traffic

WSB May 7, 2015 (7:40 am)

JK, it’s not WSDOT. The Coast Guard has refused repeated requests to restrict marine-traffic openings in rush hour – City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen had led attempts over the years: https://westseattleblog.com/2010/04/restrict-low-bridge-openings-at-rush-hour-new-voluntary-plan/

pw45 May 7, 2015 (7:41 am)

On the bright side, 99 is clear almost all the way in. And the metro had no prob getting across the bridge

supernova72 May 7, 2015 (7:41 am)

7:20am…Took about 25 mins to get to the scene. The motorcycle was still there on it’s side. Two fire trucks and a police car at that time. Hoping the best for the rider.

WSB May 7, 2015 (7:42 am)

Thanks. Tow truck is now on scene.
- WSB May 7, 2015 (7:53 am)
  
  … and ten minutes later, scene is now clear. But the backup will take a while longer to clear up, of course, especially since we’re in the heart of the outbound commute and it’s slow even on a “good” day ….

NW May 7, 2015 (7:59 am)

Can you imagine this same scenario 5 years from now?

LB May 7, 2015 (8:16 am)

Just got this in my e-mail:

“Service to and from the Fauntleroy terminal is temporarily suspended due to necessary repairs. Updates will occur as more information becomes available. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

WSB May 7, 2015 (8:17 am)

JUST discovered that via WSF Bulletins – someone had texted to ask what was up. Adding. And we’re going to go down the hill to find out more.

Melissa May 7, 2015 (8:24 am)

Ah, of all mornings to ride over on the ferry with my kids. I was just told that a truck offloading from the ferry is stuck on the ramp, so they’re waiting for a tow. Bummer. At least it’s a gorgeous morning.

WSB May 7, 2015 (8:30 am)

Thanks, Melissa. We’re only a couple minutes uphill and co-publisher P has headed that way but I haven’t heard from him yet. Nothing visible from dock camera.

Messy May 7, 2015 (8:32 am)

Still a mess. 1st and 4th exits backed up on viaduct.

East Coast Cynic May 7, 2015 (8:36 am)

Considering the slow clean ups on during previous accidents, I believe the DOT, the tow truck, cops, EMT’s were quite efficient and timely for this on. Congratulations. Only got to work about 10 minutes later than usual.

And I do dread this happening 5-10 years from now.

Telecommuter May 7, 2015 (8:50 am)

Wow – took 30 minutes to drive from the Junction Post Office to Luna Park area. Is this normal?

K'lo May 7, 2015 (8:51 am)

two BIG thumbs UP to the Water Taxi for coming back into the dock to pick up folks that were late arriving on the shuttle.

Messy May 7, 2015 (8:55 am)

Some double white line violaions too, not helping the i 5 north route,

Jim May 7, 2015 (9:04 am)

Update and or ETA on Fauntleroy please

Kristine May 7, 2015 (9:05 am)

There’s movement on the ferry dock! It looks like cars are disembarking now and folks who were queued along Fauntleroy have moved to queue in the loading zone.

Telecommuter May 7, 2015 (9:05 am)

WS bridge looks clear now.

Jim May 7, 2015 (9:07 am)

Just go the all clear from the Ferry Alert system.

WSB May 7, 2015 (9:12 am)

Yes, we’ve updated the story. Although there’ll be some catching up to do. Thank you!

Telecommuter May 7, 2015 (9:17 am)

When is Seattle going to increase road capacity, not decrease it? Current practice decreasing car capacity hoping it will force people to bikes and public transit is flawed and draconian.

Messy May 7, 2015 (9:24 am)

I second the shout out to the dot for a quick clearing of the accident. Hopefullg the hours long removals are a thing of the past.

robbie_can-not May 7, 2015 (9:29 am)

Can’t wait til 35th street turns into 1 lane. That will only exacerbate a problem like this when it occurs again in the future.

Messy May 7, 2015 (9:29 am)

Telecommuter, I wish my company would let me telecommute. Even one day a week. Maybe one day. I wanted to add that bikes are also not safe. IE, the serious accident a few days ago with a bus and deaths/ injuries people have suffered between West Seattle and downtown in recent years. Looking forward to a bike trail or something separated from motorized vehicles.

Messy May 7, 2015 (9:31 am)

Kubly is stubborn imo.

jwright May 7, 2015 (9:56 am)

Telecommuter, what sort of increased road capacity do you envision? 99? I5? West Seattle Bridge? Any one of those is a probably at least a billion dollars. Megaprojects like that just aren’t going to happen. If you are referring to things like bike lanes and bus lanes, that is probably the most cost-effective way to move more people.

datamuse May 7, 2015 (11:39 am)

Looking at Seattle’s geography, I always wonder where this increased road capacity is supposed to come from. It’s not like there’s a lot of unused land available.

Eileen May 7, 2015 (12:25 pm)

Do you mean increased transit capacity? Projects like this? http://www.soundtransit.org/Documents/pdf/news/reports/apr/201306_AgencyProgressReport_ST3%20Planning.pdf
Don’t discount that a large project “just aren’t going to happen.” I’m sure people said that when the west seattle (upper) bridge was proposed.

West Seattle needs some resiliency in our transit infrastructure so when there is a blockage in one downtown connection, another mode or connection can take some of the slack. All our connections can’t be in the same traffic stream though – today’s example with bus lane and traffic lanes blocked on the upper bridge and bike lane and traffic lane blocked on the low bridge emphasizes the need for a traffic separated solution. Here’s a good example: http://www.orphanroad.com/blog/2008/06/why-add-traffic-separated-mass-transit-quick-cost-analysis

1 of 10,000+ 35th Neighbors May 7, 2015 (1:09 pm)

@Robbie_can-not

It’s about the tens of thousands of neighbors intersected by 35th more than the 20 seconds (or thereabouts) lost to cars on Roxbury to Alaska drive.

Safety and neighborhood connections for so many of us is worth the twenty seconds lost. Are you really in such a hurry to dissect neighborhoods?

And the bridge “closures” are NOT logically connected to 35th improvements.

It’s about WS livability!! Not speeding cars.

East Coast Cynic May 7, 2015 (1:12 pm)

Bus Lanes are very difficult to come by since what normally happens is we don’t add width to the street, but rather use the existing street and take a lane or lanes away from cars. Widening the streets would be expensive and in most cases not enough room—imagine leaving your house or apartment and instead of a sidewalk, you walk into a bus lane! Much of the city has been built up on a street grid from 50 some odd years ago and would be difficult to change w/o physically moving homes and business around.

Imo, the best thing to do, expensive as it is, is build ROW public transit above or below the streets, with more light rail/subway cars to carry our increasing population—20 percent growth next 15 or so years.

ChefJoe May 7, 2015 (1:22 pm)

datamuse, my great grandfather’s automobile garage was one of many properties sacrificed to build I5 through Capitol Hill. It can happen if there’s sufficient demand and will.

Marty May 7, 2015 (8:49 pm)

Why didn’t they just push everything off to the side, get the traffic moving and deal with it then like so many thought they should have done with that salmon truck?! ;-)