TRAFFIC/TRANSIT: Monday watch, fifth week of West Seattle Bridge closure

5:44 AM: The high-rise West Seattle Bridge is empty for the 28th consecutive morning, and will remain that way for a long time. The low bridge is restricted and enforcement continues.

For general traffic, the main route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) – that’s also the main way to get to I-5, exiting at Michigan.

Your other option is the South Park Bridge (map), which drops you onto East Marginal Way one mile south of the north end of the 1st Ave. South Bridge.

Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed to see if a bridge is opening for marine traffic.

ROAD WORK ALERT: Striping work continues in the 35th/Avalon/Alaska project zone this week.

TRANSIT ALERTS:

Metro’s third round of service cuts has begun – details here.

OTHER LINKS

SDOT’s traffic map
Our traffic-cams page

Let us know what you’re seeing – comment, or text (not if you’re at the wheel!) 206-293-6302.

22 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT: Monday watch, fifth week of West Seattle Bridge closure"

  • West Seattle Hipster April 20, 2020 (6:41 am)

    Walked over the low bridge yesterday and got a look at the cracks, pretty scary.No enforcement, traffic was pretty heavy on the low bridge.

    • sw April 20, 2020 (9:26 am)

      It’s sad we can’t count on people to do the right thing.  We’ll need 24hr enforcement on the low bridge to keep folks at bay.  It is only going to get worse as businesses begin to reopen.

      • Elton April 20, 2020 (11:14 am)

        I’m hoping for random enforcement. Yes, constant enforcement is best but also costly in resources. If cops show up randomly at least a couple of times a week, it should over time deter enough idiots. If they show up at the same times each week, it won’t work. 

        • Jon Wright April 20, 2020 (11:54 am)

          At a minimum it needs to be constant during peak periods, but perhaps random would be sufficient at off-peak periods. I’m skeptical, though. Whenever I drive by or look at the cameras, I see plenty of private vehicles on the low bridge.

          • sw April 20, 2020 (2:00 pm)

            There is simply no way to enforce variable usage of the bridge as people will always take advantage of the situation for their own selfish benefit.  Too many resources would go into trying to govern “who” and “when” rather than enforcing a single, clear policy.  Commenters on the WSB threads have already made mention of their lower bridge use under the “it’s okay if I do it” scenario.

  • Derek April 20, 2020 (8:11 am)

    It’s getting a bit worse now that some places are re-opening for business. I am very worried for when May comes around. 

    • CAM April 20, 2020 (11:24 am)

      Aside from Boeing what places are reopening?

      • drM April 20, 2020 (5:50 pm)

        Aside from Boeing what places are reopening?

        HOSPITALS.. which have never closed.

  • Question Authority April 20, 2020 (8:12 am)

    I can’t believe nobody’s chimed in yet today wondering why the bridge isn’t fixed yet.

    • sw April 20, 2020 (1:36 pm)

      Oh, you want the OTHER thread for that.  Plenty of folks over there with their knickers completely twisted up that a solution has not been identified and construction schedule posted.  

    • Rumbles April 20, 2020 (7:21 pm)

      However, someone has already suggested for today that the “pile driving” may have contributed to the damage.  As do many people every day.  (It didn’t)

  • AdmiralBridge April 20, 2020 (8:28 am)

    The Bridge closure announcement has a Chevy Chase “Franco is still dead” kind of feel at this point :).  Sorry for the older SNL reference.Is the City Council meeting still today at 9:30 for the briefing?  If so, maybe a quick reminder to the readership with a link would be good – we need to band together and understand what the plans are for our community.

  • AdmiralBridge April 20, 2020 (8:31 am)

    Looks like it is on for today, 9:30 amhttps://www.seattle.gov/council/watch-council-live

    • WSB April 20, 2020 (9:15 am)

      Tes, we published another reminder Friday and it’s in a home-page spotlight box. Will be carrying the live feed as soom as the meeting starts.

  • Joe Z April 20, 2020 (9:48 am)

    As mentioned, there’s nobody stopping you from driving across the low bridge on weekends. I took the long way but hundreds of others gave in to the temptation to take the shortcut…

  • MJ April 20, 2020 (9:58 am)

    I understand SDoT will be doing stress load testing on the low level bridge.  As I mentioned in another post, it would be very ironic if the load tests require weight restrictions.  

  • Beepee April 20, 2020 (10:51 am)

    Are cyclists allowed on lower bridge bike path?

    • WSB April 20, 2020 (10:55 am)

      Bicycles and pedestrians, yes.

  • anonyme April 20, 2020 (11:22 am)

    I just returned from my morning walk where I encountered I young Hispanic woman I see regularly on bus route #22.  She works as a carer at the far south end of Arbor Heights on Marine View Drive.  She was running to her job.  Now that there is no bus service to Arbor Heights, she has to run/walk from 35th & Roxbury- at the closest.  The last thing she needs is a long run to and from an already physically demanding job caring for others.  There should at least be a shuttle of some kind to support low-wage, essential workers at this time.

  • cs April 20, 2020 (7:23 pm)

    I was riding my bike across the lower bridge the other day and talked to a moto cop. He told me that they were testing the lower bridge for issues. He said it can only handle 20k a day. The upper can handle 120k a day. But looking up at the high bridge it looked really bad. There is alot of small cracks but if you look hard there is a crack from one side to other. That’s scary. I feel there going to have to replace the whole bridge.

    • psps April 20, 2020 (7:34 pm)

      The bridge is in sections. Only the failing sections need to be replaced or otherwise fixed, not “the whole bridge.”

  • Kevin P Townsend April 21, 2020 (1:00 pm)

    The lower bridge should be “buses only”  mornings 6-9 and evenings 4-7, and open to everyone else the rest of the time and holidays and weekends. That would help in my opinion. 

Sorry, comment time is over.