TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates, alerts, previews, presidential departure…

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:38 AM: Good morning! No incidents in the area so far. The president of China is heading from downtown Seattle this morning back to Paine Field in Snohomish County to end his two-day visit; we’ll update here when we hear the motorcade’s on the move. I-5 express lanes are already closed and regional media is expecting the “mainline” to close shortly, as the state’s traffic cams are blacked out.

Other notes:

METRO CANCELLATIONS: One for Route 55 was announced earlier this morning via Twitter and text (as were two others, for non-WS routes). This afternoon we’re getting a closer look at the system, by request – do you have a question or concern beyond the obvious? Please comment (or otherwise message us) so we can be sure to ask about it.

REMINDER – METRO CHANGES SATURDAY: Metro’s next “service change” is Saturday. Not much in it for this area but here’s the breakout we published previously.

TONIGHT – WEST SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION COALITION: 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, WSTC’s meeting will include a Port of Seattle Commission candidates’ forum as well as discussion of the city’s new West Seattle Bridge Corridor “action report” (first reported here Sunday night, briefly discussed at the City Council Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday).

REMINDER – 35TH & ROXBURY WORK NOT DONE: In case you missed our followup last night – we talked with the project manager for both, to get a status report, about midway through SDOT crews’ work on both arterials.

8:14 AM: Along with the express lanes, I-5 NB from Northgate north to SR 526 is closed for President Xi’s departure.

8:26 AM: WSDOT says the I-5 NB closure now extends south to 85th.

8:44 AM: And now it’s all reopening. P.S. Too soon for schedule/details but if you missed the recent reports, President Obama is visiting Friday, October 9th – that’s two weeks from tomorrow.

5:25 PM: We’ve been covering the Aurora Bridge crash all day at the top of the home page. Also, right now (thanks for the comment), the signal on 35th at Alaska is reported to be cycling too short to keep traffic flowing, so SB traffic is reported to be backing up. SDOT tells us engineers are or will be checking it out.

5:37 PM: Fixed, says SDOT. And our crew’s verified, no residual backup.

9 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates, alerts, previews, presidential departure..."

  • Kendra September 24, 2015 (8:25 am)

    The freeway shut down is start ting any minute. I commute from west Seattle to snohomish county everyday. When I passed Stewart st this morning there were flashing lights in place. I’m in lumnwood now and they have freeway onramps blocked off/ not letting anymore cars on northbound.

    • WSB September 24, 2015 (8:26 am)

      Thanks. WSDOT just tweeted that northbound I-5 is now closed at 85th, which is further south than a short time earlier …

  • Sue September 24, 2015 (8:34 am)

    That 55 cancellation text was sent 3 minutes before the scheduled departure. How do they not know in advance that they have no driver or bus for a route? If I call in sick, I’m required to call an hour before my shift begins.

  • Colleen September 24, 2015 (8:36 am)

    I don’t know if it’s an obvious question or not, but I’m curious to see how accurate their announcements of cancelled routes are. There’s been some cancelled/no show C lines recently in the morning, and those don’t ever seem to make the announcements.

  • ca September 24, 2015 (9:56 am)

    can I just say how stupid it was to do Roxbury and 35th into one lane ggrrr

    • WSB September 24, 2015 (1:23 pm)

      Just a note if anyone reading my request above for Metro-cancellation questions comes here to suggest one – my visit to Metro’s control center, scheduled for this afternoon, is postponed (understandably) because of the Aurora Bridge crash and the many reroutes Metro is handling as a result. But we are still interested in questions! – Tracy

  • Nate September 24, 2015 (5:16 pm)

    Why is the light at 35 and Alaska so short today? It’s backing up traffic off the WSB. Did this get changed recently?

    • WSB September 24, 2015 (5:20 pm)

      Nate, someone just texted us about this, sounds more like a malfunction. If anyone who is able to make a phone call safely/legally can call 206-684-ROAD, I’ve also flagged SDOT on Twitter but again, just about the entire city is tied up with the Highway 99 situation right now …. We’re en route for a look.

      • WSB September 24, 2015 (5:33 pm)

        SDOT says it’s fixed. I’m having our crew continue on to verify …

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