FOLLOWUP: Here’s when temporary bridge bus lane will be removed

Many have asked – so here’s the answer: After seven weeks, the temporary 4th Avenue bridge-ramp bus lane is scheduled to be removed this Saturday. The lane was striped/signed the weekend before the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s permanent closure so that buses rerouted onto 4th wouldn’t get too bogged down in the interim period before they could use northbound Highway 99’s new pre-tunnel exit. Now that ramp is open, so we asked SDOT when the bus-lane removal was planned. Spokesperson Dawn Schellenberg replied today, “Our crews are scheduled to do the work Saturday, weather permitting. It will take about 8 hours and work will start around 7 AM. We appreciate folks’ patience. Our crews are spread pretty thin right now.”

Andros February 20, 2019 (4:27 pm)

This seemed kind of pointless, since the left lane got completely backed up from people going straight to I5 South. I wonder how many people actually heeded this…

Maria February 21, 2019 (9:32 am)

Well the intent was right. Certainly helped bus flow. May have shifted some to use mass transit and others to remain home or shift timing (me an hour earlier). But unfortunately what I think too much of us got was disappointment in fellow citizens who chose to put themselves above the rules at the expense of others. If you really looked at it though, most did play nice. So I take the good and move on — we all survived it and things continue to get better.

Brian February 20, 2019 (4:52 pm)

“Bus lane” should be in quotes. :-) During the worst of the 99 shutdown that lane was a free-for-all during morning commutes.

Helga February 20, 2019 (5:51 pm)

While kind of unrelated, what about the cordoned off section of the right northbound lane of 4th ave s bridge before you get to Costco. It’s been ‘coned off’ for over a year but no idea why. Have never seen anything about it and no idea where to look. That merge is a serious pain and people freak out all the time.

WSB February 20, 2019 (6:18 pm)

https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2017/10/17/we-have-to-close-a-lane-on-4th-ave-s-near-costco-for-awhile/

Came up briefly at a community meeting last year. Will check in with SDOT.
- Helga February 21, 2019 (7:46 am)
  
  Thanks! WSB is always in the know.
- WS Taxpayer February 21, 2019 (8:27 am)
  
  Thanks for this…What about Horton Street…Why have they closed the West Bound lane between Occidental and 1st. Kinda messed up the return trip from Costco…
- WS Taxpayer February 21, 2019 (9:14 am)
  
  Thanks for this info…on a separate note, what happened with the 1st and Horton intersection. Why did they close the west-bound lanes? With Lander tore up it makes the trip home from Costco challenging. Seems silly with the traffic light still there. I didn’t see anything on the SDOT blog about it…
  - WSB February 21, 2019 (9:22 am)
    
    That was done when the Lander project started.
    https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/bridges-stairs-and-other-structures/bridges/lander-st-bridge
    - WS Taxpayer February 22, 2019 (8:02 am)
      
      From SDOTThis change was implemented in order to improve safety for those
      driving across the railroad tracks. Westbound traffic on S Lander St can back up over the tracks while
      waiting for the traffic signal at 1st Ave S. If a driver isn’t paying
      attention, they can end up on the tracks when a train is approaching. Now that
      S Lander St is closed, we anticipated seeing greater traffic volumes on S
      Horton St, which would increase the likelihood that traffic would back up to
      the tracks. To mitigate this issue, we have detoured traffic north on
      Occidental Ave S to provide more space for vehicle queuing during signal
      cycles. The intersection at S Hanford St is also wider than at S Horton St,
      which gives us the ability to have two left turn lanes onto 1st Ave S.
      
      We plan to monitor the flow of traffic in the area once the Lander
      St Bridge opens in early 2020 and make adjustments as needed.
  - KM February 21, 2019 (1:17 pm)
    
    You don’t need to take an entirely different route if you previously used Horton and 1st to return from Costco, the detour is only one block. Take your usual route on Horton, the signs will reroute you the additional block. The left turn southbound onto 1st from Hanford is more conflict-free than it was at 1st and Horton.
    - SDK February 23, 2019 (9:46 am)
      
      Since the snow I’ve started taking the low bridge route, after short turn around onto 4th south and then Spokane west! See how your like that option.
KayK February 21, 2019 (8:36 am)

WSDOT rep told us at a meeting that repair to this bridge problem hadn’t even been scheduled yet due to difficulties working with BNSF folks.

Trickycoolj February 20, 2019 (6:40 pm)

Surprised the snow plows didn’t take it off. A good chunk of all the new paint at Highland Park & Holden got scraped off.

Aaron February 20, 2019 (8:58 pm)

Yay! That temporary bus lane really messed up my commute and made a normally easy drive a crazy free-for-all. Glad to see it gone.

Maria February 21, 2019 (9:28 am)

Well the intent was right. Certainly helped bus flow. May have shift some to use mass transit and others to remain home of flex on time (me 2 hours earlier). But what I think most of us got out of it was disappointment in fellow citizens who choose to put themselves above the rules at the expense of others. If you really looked at it though, most did play nice. So take the good and move on — we all survived it and things continue to get better.

Franci February 21, 2019 (12:47 pm)

The Horton St. reroute is actually an improvement, I know it seems like a pain, but really its much more efficient at moving cars. There were many times when it took multiple lights to get through the intersection to turn left onto 1st Ave due to the traffic crossing 1st Ave at Horton. I think the jog 1 block north is brilliant! It has a dedicated left turn light, that is far longer than the light at Horton and the light cycle is faster too, it cycles much faster than the light at Horton and 1st. If this is temporary and it does appear to be – I really hope we get a left turn light at Horton and 1st when the street is opened up again.

Sorry, comment time is over.