VIDEO: Specialized concrete arrives for West Seattle Bridge repairs

(SDOT image)

SDOT just announced another milestone in the West Seattle Bridge repairs, albeit a belated one – the first pour of strike-delayed specialized structural concrete, a key ingredient for strengthening the bridge before reopening it. SDOT’s announcement explains that this concrete “will be used to form structures inside the bridge to hold the new steel cables for the improved post-tensioning system” – summarized as “46 miles of steel cables … capable of holding more than 20 million pounds of force.” SDOT sent this aerial video of today’s pour – the truck’s atop the bridge but the concrete’s destination is inside:

As reported previously, the project received two deliveries of non-structural concrete earlier this month for new expansion joints, part of the maintenance work that’s being done before the bridge reopens. Today’s announcement adds, “This past week, SDOT completed the final core drills through the bridge’s pier structures, which is another major milestone to get ready for installing the new post-tensioning system. SDOT and its contractor have also be been continuing to make progress filling existing cracks with epoxy and installing carbon wrapping on both the interior and exterior of the bridge.” As for when the bridge will reopen, SDOT reiterated today that they can’t reassess the schedule until all the concrete pours for the post-tensioning are complete.

Video:

Colonel Mustard's Wrench April 16, 2022 (1:42 pm)

Is West Seattle 4 months away from a functioning bridge ?

Derek April 16, 2022 (3:00 pm)

4 months?? Mid 2022 is July at the latest to me.
BWAHHHHHH April 16, 2022 (7:03 pm)

How about 4 months until the Week long party closer…….

Former Bridge User April 16, 2022 (3:41 pm)

How long with the concrete pours? It seems like 1 per week.

wetone April 16, 2022 (5:32 pm)

That video shows no concrete being poured. It does show pump truck’s hose over ecopan. You would think SDOT could at least show something to what there trying to sell to the people……….

WSB April 16, 2022 (7:03 pm)

SDOT sent several clips. I chose this one to upload and embed because it was the one that I found most interesting. I’ll upload the one that shows the “mud” actually coming out of the pipe/tube/whatever the proper term is, and add the URL here in a few minutes.
(added)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDYlmE36hyk

WSCurmudgeon April 16, 2022 (6:26 pm)

Is there a clear definition of “the middle of a year?”

In English, as in many Indo-European languages, periods of time, especially discrete “events,” are referred to as having a beginning, a middle and an end.

Unless one of the 3 parts has clearly different aspects, they are thought of as being each a third of the total period. For a year, 4 months is a third. Thus the middle third of a year is the 1st of May thru the 31st of August.

As far as I recall, SDOT has not specified a more exact reopening date than “the middle of 2022.”

Derek April 16, 2022 (6:48 pm)

Mid 2022 is technically July 1. That’s the middle day of a year. Not August. They better have it done by July 1.
- Big Bird April 16, 2022 (7:42 pm)
  
  What if they don’t?
- Math Teacher April 17, 2022 (11:15 am)
  
  US life expectancy is approximately 79 years.
  
  According to Derek’s logic, only 39-year-olds are middle-aged.
  
  According to WSCurmudgeon’s logic, everyone age 26 to 52 is middle-aged, but after age 53, you would need to refer to yourself as elderly.
  
  Clearly, our every-day usage of the word “middle” is not that young. I think “mid-year” fairly includes everything before the winter holidays, just as middle-aged includes everything before elderly.
  - Jake from State farm April 18, 2022 (6:40 pm)
    
    So your saying, if she weighs the same as a duck, then she is made of wood! Therefore, she a “Witch”! …..Or a bridge of course.
    - Pessoa April 18, 2022 (9:35 pm)
      
      “What did the Romans ever do for us?” Classic bit. I happened to meet one of the Monty Python ensemble, Eric Idle, at his quirky, non-ostentatious pad in the Hollywood Hills. Down to earth, modest guy. He has a festish for couches, his living room is crammed wall to wall with them.
Donna Brown April 18, 2022 (1:27 pm)

In this case, middle of the year does not specify which year.

WSResident April 17, 2022 (4:38 am)

WSDOT arms must be worn out from patting themselves on the back. I’ll be shocked if it’s opened before 2023.WSR

WSB April 17, 2022 (10:19 pm)

This is an SDOT (city) structure & project, not WSDOT (state).

William Johnson April 17, 2022 (8:45 am)

There is no reason not to open up the bridge to passenger cars only right now. The city was told initially that they could have kept the bridge open to metered, passenger car traffic this entire time, while they came up with a plan to make repairs to the structure.The city chose to close the bridge down to ALL traffic not out of caution, but to create an emergent situation where the city was forced to come up with repair funding. Given the political landscape around here, without that kind of ’emergency’, the city would have just continued to kick this can down the proverbial road like it has on other similar road needs.The West Seattle Bridge was never in a condition where it was likely to collapse. If it had been, the Army Corps of Engineers would have immediately required that part of the span be removed, instead of allowing it to collapse into the Duwamish river.

Math Teacher April 17, 2022 (4:04 pm)

Yeah, sure. Not.
MyThruppence April 17, 2022 (4:52 pm)

William Johnson you said “the city was told initially that they could have kept the bridge open to metered, passenger car traffic this entire time, while they came up with a plan to make repairs to the structure”. May I ask who ‘they’ refers too? You also stated “the West Seattle Bridge was never in a condition where it was likely to collapse”. Can you offer any proof other than the lack of action by the Army Corps of Engineers? Also, may I ask how you know factually that these things are what happened? Without these answers, respectfully William, we must assume your statements are mere rumors; perhaps made with benign intentions or maybe not, but rumors nonetheless. Will you answer these two questions for us? Thanks.
- Jake from State farm April 18, 2022 (6:52 pm)
  
  Yeah William,….if that’s your real name….”Da da da TA!”

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