UPDATE: First West Seattle Bridge work platform installed

12:53 PM: That’s the first half of the first work platform hoisted up under the West Seattle Bridge today. We photographed it from the low-bridge walking/biking path around 11:30 am, just as it was reaching the top. This half is under the south side of the bridge; the other half was scheduled to go up a few hours after the first one – we’ll check back later this afternoon. As noted in our Friday preview, the hoisting operation is not affecting traffic.

2:22 PM: Watching this “live” SDOT camera, we’re noticing that it appears crews are now moving the second half of the platform into place for hoisting now – look at the lower right of the screen.

5:13 PM: Returned to the area just before dusk for the photo above – second half in place. We’ll find out this week about the timetable for installing the other platform, on the east side of the main span.

18 Replies to "UPDATE: First West Seattle Bridge work platform installed"

  • CarDriver January 8, 2022 (1:34 pm)

    YAY. Progress. WSB. Came through Chelan at 7:50 this am and @12:45 this afternoon. No sign of sign work at Chelan intersection.

  • Insertname January 8, 2022 (1:54 pm)

    And so it begins…

  • Wondering January 8, 2022 (3:12 pm)

    Are they planning on keeping city buses off the bridge?  My understanding was that this was a  contributor to the bridge failure.  The hybrid buses are over the gross weight limit for Seattle streets BEFORE passengers even board; somehow an exemption was made.  You can easily see the damage that overweight vehicles do to surface streets at the Westwood Village stop. 

    • WSB January 8, 2022 (3:29 pm)

      That’s been asked and the answer was no.

    • Foop January 8, 2022 (3:57 pm)

      Would you rather everyone who currently rides a bus drive?

      • Wondering January 8, 2022 (7:30 pm)

        No Foop; i’d like our city government to follow it’s own rules.  They were put in place  to protect roadways from this exact type of damage.  The push  for hybrid buses and skirting the rules is a typical short sided  Seattle way to make it’s self feel good and win political points for being good for the climate. Thanks for the info Notend.  

        • East Coast Cynic January 8, 2022 (8:21 pm)

          Push sound transit to settle on an alignment and build West Seattle Link as soon as possible so we can get those destructive buses off the high bridge:).

      • Hammer in Hand January 8, 2022 (7:40 pm)

        Seems the lower bridge is working JUST fine for them now

    • Notend January 8, 2022 (6:01 pm)

      Wondering is correct. Damage from trucks and buses is real.Consider that one semi-truck
      or loaded bus causes the same damage to roads and bridges as 9,600 passenger cars
      (from the GAO).
       And from the T-5 enviro impact statement the Port
      of Seattle figures 1,600 truck trips a day average, and 2,000 trips at peak.
        Then
      add the city’s “Heavy Haul” program that started in October of 2015 and raised
      the maximum truck weight from the federal max of 80,000 lbs to 98,000 pounds in
      the SODO corridor.
         Oh,
      and from SDOT’s “Commercial Vehicle Enforcement” video it says that 30 to 40%
      of all trucks stopped are overweight. 
           GAO: https://www.gao.gov/products/CED-79-94    T-5 EIS:  https://www.portseattle.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/Final%20Draft%20FEIS%20T-5%20Volume%20I_F.pdf

          SDOT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JruF7DbPFDM&ab_channel=seattledot

  • CarDriver January 8, 2022 (4:24 pm)

    Foop. Busses seem to be doing fine taking the low bridge. Haven’t heard any complaints from riders or Metro.

    • Notend January 8, 2022 (6:21 pm)

      Okay so, when the high bridge opens we take the automated photo enforcement cam and relocate it to the upper bridge. Reverse the criteria so all vehicles over 10,000 lbs get a ticket.

      • Notend January 8, 2022 (6:27 pm)

         we disguise this plan as “it’s for safety”

    • CAM January 9, 2022 (6:48 pm)

      What complaints are you expecting to hear when there is no alternative? Bus riders are not following the lead of car drivers and spamming the comment section of every article to scream into the void because they are dealing with reality. Want to take weight off the bridge? Eliminate the cars from driving on it. And no I’m not anti car but ridiculous questions get ridiculous responses. Good grief. Think about the world as a whole for five minutes a day please. 

  • Jason January 9, 2022 (9:07 am)

    How about the Nucor rebar steel carrying semi trucks (sometimes 3 back to back) that I use to see crossing over the bridge all the time?

  • eric January 9, 2022 (12:24 pm)

    Easy now, don’t you be knocking Nucor.  They do a lot for this community and the world.

  • Alexander Muller January 9, 2022 (1:41 pm)

    The bridge has been closed for nearly 2 years,  and they just now put up a work platform? Pathetic 

  • Sparky January 9, 2022 (3:24 pm)

    It’s about time…

  • Derek January 11, 2022 (10:24 am)

    Why did this take so long? I get one year for the epoxy….but two years later and we finally get this done? Finding a contractor and funding for a crucial infrastructure item really that tall of a task? Jeeze.  It was so linear how they did it. Should have been MULTITASKING. I also hope they start banning semis and heavy trucks from using the bridge entirely.

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