BULLETIN: The West Seattle Bridge is open again, after 2 1/2 years

9:13 PM: It’s official. Cars just started heading eastbound from the 35th entrance. More to come…

9:23 PM: Thanks to Laurel at Ounces (which is having a big reopening party tomorrow) for sending that video of the last barricade being removed at the Delridge entrance, and the worker declaring, “The West Seattle Bridge is open!”

9:30 PM: Here’s the official SDOT announcement. Key points to remember:
-Restrictions on the low bridge are now ALL lifted
-Buses don’t return to the high bridge until Monday

(Texted photo from Eric Linxweiler)

9:44 PM: Thanks for the photos and videos – getting caught up once the server starts behaving again (sorry if you’ve had trouble connecting, we have increased capacity over the years but apparently not by enough). Tim McMonigle reports his car was the first car across (see comment below) – here’s his video:

(Added: In the comment thread on our earlier report, Matt #2” says he was first across on his motorcycle.) … Many noted fireworks this past half-hour. Haven’t had time to sleuth them yet. (Update: Someone on Twitter says they were off Bainbridge.)

10:10 PM: The reopening means a huge sigh of relief for residents along detour routes – particularly (but not limited to) Highland Park, South Park, and Georgetown. Kay from HP sent this photo and caption:

Tail lights on SW Holden – so long, y’all!

You might recall that SW Holden was so swamped with traffic immediately after the closure, SDOT installed a traffic signal at Highland Park Way/Holden in the span of a week – an intersection where previously residents had been requesting traffic-control help for decades.

10:45 PM: Speaking of looking back, if you for any reason want to browse back through our 2 1/2 years of coverage – going back to the shocking March 23, 2020, announcement that the bridge had to be closed – it’s all archived here, 300+ stories. Getting back to the present, here’s the “live” 35th/Fauntleroy webcam, which we featured earlier in the hours leading up to the reopening.

We’ll of course be watching the traffic situation, especially on Monday morning, with live updates during that first post-reopening outbound commute.

11:34 PM: Commenters are noting that the southbound I-5 exit to the bridge hasn’t reopened yet. SDOT mentioned that in a tweet and said it’s related to WSDOT’s “Revive I-5” work.

1:15 AM: One of the high bridge webcams is working now.

162 Replies to "BULLETIN: The West Seattle Bridge is open again, after 2 1/2 years"

  • Chino September 17, 2022 (9:14 pm)

    Wooo!!!!!!

    • Rumbles September 17, 2022 (10:29 pm)

      So exciting!!!  Can’t wait to drive on it!!

    • Reb September 17, 2022 (10:51 pm)

      Hallelujah the bridge has opened,, Long live the bridge…

    • Boop September 17, 2022 (11:19 pm)

      Drove it…. It was BLISSSSSSS!! ❤️❤️❤️

  • Jennie September 17, 2022 (9:15 pm)

    Wahooooo !!!!!!

  • Alix September 17, 2022 (9:16 pm)

    Weeeeeeeee!!

  • j September 17, 2022 (9:17 pm)

    Thank you West Seattle Blog for such terrific reporting on this terrible long closure. Much appreciated.

    • Rumbles September 17, 2022 (11:20 pm)

      So true!  Thank you!  ❤️❤️❤️

    • TM September 18, 2022 (1:14 am)

      Here, here! Thank god for the blog. A veritable lifeline over the last couple of years. 

  • SMG September 17, 2022 (9:17 pm)

    Hooray!! 

  • ARPigeonPoint September 17, 2022 (9:18 pm)

    <3 

  • Celebrate September 17, 2022 (9:18 pm)

    Whoo hoo!!! 

  • Scott September 17, 2022 (9:18 pm)

    Finally, should had never happened in the first place.

    • Kim September 17, 2022 (10:33 pm)

      We’d would have lost the lower bridge but sacrifices must be made. 

  • Ryan September 17, 2022 (9:19 pm)

    Amazing!

  • JTinWS September 17, 2022 (9:19 pm)

    Woohoo!!!

  • Michael September 17, 2022 (9:20 pm)

    Slap my a– and call me Sally! 

  • Jan September 17, 2022 (9:21 pm)

    Wow!  Yay!

  • hooray! September 17, 2022 (9:23 pm)

    WSB! Thank you for all you’ve done for WS these long 2 1/2 years!

  • Schmitzy September 17, 2022 (9:26 pm)

    OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

  • CJ September 17, 2022 (9:29 pm)

    Wow. 

  • Matt P September 17, 2022 (9:29 pm)

    Sad that we had to move away due to the bridge being closed (my wife works on the East side and had a decent commute before it closed), but glad that it’s now open, so we can visit more easily!

    • Smoosh September 18, 2022 (7:40 am)

      We saw the bridge was closed and decided that it would be a good time to move to West Seattle to take advantage of opportunity left by those fleeing the closure.  One of our best decisions to be honest. Now my wife, who did not grow up around here and works in Georgetown, Rainier Valley, and Merced Island will love it here even more. 

  • Tim McMonigle September 17, 2022 (9:31 pm)

    We went down to watch and ended up being the first car to go over.  Video’d it…weird with no cars.  A bit dusty, but clean and glorious!

    • WS resident September 17, 2022 (9:45 pm)

      Nice!! Must have felt good.

    • Sigrid September 18, 2022 (12:09 pm)

      Darn we were driving underneath, with many cars just stuck by the train. If we only knew. Thanks for the great video! Yahoo!

  • Derek September 17, 2022 (9:33 pm)

    WOOT!

  • WS98 September 17, 2022 (9:33 pm)

    Yahooo!!! Are those fireworks I hear right now celebrating the bridge opening?

  • MG September 17, 2022 (9:35 pm)

    So happy!  Does anyone hear what sounds like fireworks?  I’m assuming it’s cars driving over expansion joints. I don’t remember this before but it’s been so long who knows. Hi Frank!

    • West seattle guy September 17, 2022 (9:51 pm)

      Don’t think so as it can be heard all the way In ballard also wondering what it is. 

    • Pelicans September 17, 2022 (10:59 pm)

      It was a private fireworks display from a barge in Port Madison. Over now, but timed just right!

  • Margaret September 17, 2022 (9:37 pm)

    Is the Fireworks off of Alki to celebrate – or is that something else?  It’s been going on quite a while!

    • Lamont September 17, 2022 (10:03 pm)

      People on twitter saying they were going off over south Bainbridge.

    • Chels P September 17, 2022 (10:51 pm)

      There’s fireworks on Alki year round. Just another weekend here 

  • Amanda September 17, 2022 (9:40 pm)

    We definitely heard the celebration honking as people started using the bridge. So happy for this day!

  • Greg September 17, 2022 (9:45 pm)

    I knew it was opening! The fireworks were too loud to be the “normal” Saturday night gunfire.

  • West seattle guy September 17, 2022 (9:48 pm)

    Just wondering what the thunder like rumbling is as well I’m told it can be heard all the way to ballard its not fireworks or thunder that I can see at the top of west seattle 

  • tenlow September 17, 2022 (9:51 pm)

    Happy Bridgemas everyone! 

    • ~Hockeywitch~ September 17, 2022 (10:22 pm)

      You win the comments tonight…

    • Jill Loblaw September 18, 2022 (7:29 am)

      I say we celebrate Bridgemas every year on this date!!!

    • morealex September 18, 2022 (12:42 pm)

      Absolutely West Seattle Bridgemas should be a thing every year!  Living in Highland Park, my reason for celebrating might be different from that of everyone living north of Morgan, but who’s quibbling?  :-)Merry Bridgemas all!

  • Sue H September 17, 2022 (9:52 pm)

    So exciting! I don’t need the bridge as much as I once did, since I work from home 100% of the time now, but it’s just so thrilling to know it’s an option again.

  • KayK September 17, 2022 (9:53 pm)

    So long y’all – love Highland Park!

  • West Seattle Coug September 17, 2022 (9:54 pm)

    East Vashon is dead…long live West Seattle!

  • Chelle September 17, 2022 (9:54 pm)

    Best news of the year!!!

  • Deb September 17, 2022 (9:56 pm)

    YAY!!! No more troubled bridge over water. Thank You West Seattle Blog for keeping  West Seattle informed and aware these past 2+ years. And yes, fireworks (?) heard from Admiral to Morgan and even in BALLARD! (Please – not the expansion joints…) Just YAY!!! Deb;

  • Julie September 17, 2022 (9:59 pm)

    I saw a big and long fireworks display to the NW across the water (Elliott Bay) about 15 minutes ago.

  • TMT September 17, 2022 (10:01 pm)

    Yeeeeeah!! 

  • Mike September 17, 2022 (10:01 pm)

    Drove across at 9:20 and it was a dream come true!

  • Bw September 17, 2022 (10:02 pm)

    Curious about the noise as well. I live by  Hamilton Viewpoint and wondered if it was possible to be road noise from the bridge. 

    • Snack September 17, 2022 (10:15 pm)

      9:35 PM The first drive … I just drove from 35th East to Columbia Way and back west to Admiral  Way.  Just a few cars on the bridge and very smooth.Love it……..reconnected 👍

  • AlkiB77 September 17, 2022 (10:04 pm)

    Bw.. Fireworks across the Bay 

  • 22blades September 17, 2022 (10:05 pm)

    🎉YYYEEESSSSSS!!!! Just crossed over to celebrate.🍺

  • MoonKitten1 September 17, 2022 (10:06 pm)

    Lol Tim’s video has me dying… passing the pace car and everything. 

  • Picklefarmer September 17, 2022 (10:06 pm)

    Twenty minutes to go from south delridge and back. This is so exciting!

  • MH September 17, 2022 (10:07 pm)

    Just took a lil celebratory drive across and back! Bridge looks great! Saw fireworks off of Alki! 

  • Ann Adachi September 17, 2022 (10:08 pm)

    I happened to look out from my deck at 9:32pm & saw CARS DRIVING ACROSS & realized the bridge was OPEN! After a horrendous traffic jam this afternoon on West Marginal Way that took me 55 min to get to the UW, I’m so excited to return to a regular commute! And yes, WSB, thank you for the incredible job you did these last 2.5 years keeping us informed. You are the heart & soul of W. Seattle ❤️

  • Sunday Driver September 17, 2022 (10:08 pm)

    Yay!!!!!!  Thanks to all the workers, the suits and politicos, Pete Buttigieg for the funds, and everyone else who made it happen. Such a happy night!!! 

  • Mj September 17, 2022 (10:08 pm)

    FREEDOM, and just in time to welcome home happy Husky fans who live in WS!

  • Lina September 17, 2022 (10:08 pm)

    We just drove over coming from Beacon hill, planning to take the lower bridge then saw that the bridge was open and we freaked out and got so excited!  It was GLORIOUS!

  • Kersti Elisabeth Muul September 17, 2022 (10:09 pm)

    Went to beacon hill and back in 10 minutes 🤣

  • Kevin on Delridge September 17, 2022 (10:13 pm)

    Wonderful news!

  • Roddy3 September 17, 2022 (10:15 pm)

    Break out the merlot….

    • Oh Seate September 18, 2022 (9:07 am)

      Roddy3 wins the West Seattle Inside Joke comment!

  • als September 17, 2022 (10:17 pm)

    As seen from Alki off my deck, facing directly NW; The fireworks show appeared to be coming from the direction of Bainbridge / maybe beyond, in the Poulsbo area. It went on for a LONG time, (15-20 mins) that I first thought my neighbor was sliding furniture around for no reason on his deck. At one point, I thought they were being set off FROM the water, but when the ferry approached, it didn’t look that way anymore. As for the bridge reopening, maybe now we won’t feel trapped and disconnected from the rest of the city anymore, and will no longer associate this closure with the stress and uncertainty that transpired in March 2020.

  • Kelly September 17, 2022 (10:18 pm)

    Bainbridge fireworks 💥 that’s what I hear but WOW kind of intense fireworks 

  • Dm September 17, 2022 (10:19 pm)

    After two and a half years of cars ramroding the reroute through our Highland Park neighborhood, choking Holden and blowing through red lights, a wee thank you would be nice.  I doubt if a thank you will happen.  Just be gone…  It’s going to take our neighborhood a while to detox. 

    • Really? September 17, 2022 (10:29 pm)

      You want a thank you for what? Everyone suffered during the bridge closure. Of course they’re not going to individually thank the areas that were impacted because EVERYONE was impacted.. JFC. I bet the duwamish were much more impacted than anyone else, so maybe go pay reparations to them before you start asking for apologies and thank you’s to those living in highland park and having the unfortunate side effect of being one of the only ways off the island for the last 2 years. 

      • West Marge September 18, 2022 (1:02 am)

        As a resident of West Marginal who hasn’t been able to turn left for two years, I’mma go ahead and second that. Really?? 

    • JMac September 17, 2022 (10:33 pm)

      Thank you. What a nightmare for the residents all along that route. Hope you can get your neighborhood back. 

      • Dm September 17, 2022 (10:51 pm)

        Thank you JMac…

    • Azimuth September 17, 2022 (10:37 pm)

      Thank you!

    • Bw September 17, 2022 (10:49 pm)

      This closure has been a burden to EVERYONE. Not just your neighborhood.  I personally got rammed sitting at a red light at the 5 way intersection under the bridge.  Let’s all maybe just be glad the bride is open and hope for the best going forward instead of claiming who had it worse.

    • Ep September 17, 2022 (11:06 pm)

      No one owes you, or honestly, anyone along the detour routes a thank you.   This was a burden for EVERYONE. No one enjoyed the last 2.5 years. 

  • ~Hockeywitch~ September 17, 2022 (10:20 pm)

    Thank you to all the workers that worked on it, so we can use it again..  THANK YOU!!!

    • Greg September 17, 2022 (10:32 pm)

      You’re welcome!  Local 302 Equipment Operator

  • Azimuth September 17, 2022 (10:20 pm)

    BREAKING NEWS: Meteorite Destroys West Seattle Bridge!

    • WSB September 17, 2022 (10:22 pm)

      It’s been open an hour and no trouble yet, otherworldly or otherwise.

    • wscommuter September 17, 2022 (11:07 pm)

      Best comment yet.

    • Alki resident September 17, 2022 (11:19 pm)

      Bwahahaha 

  • Brooke September 17, 2022 (10:21 pm)

    I hear the fireworks now! Thanks for the great coverage Tracy! Beyond happy! 🥳🥰🥂

  • West Seattle Mad Sci Guy September 17, 2022 (10:24 pm)

    Love hearing all the celebration honks outside! Definitely going to take a drive across tomorrow to celebrate.

  • xavier September 17, 2022 (10:30 pm)

    Just drove it, it has that new paint smell

  • Boinsted September 17, 2022 (10:33 pm)

    Free at last!!! 

  • Ilana September 17, 2022 (10:33 pm)

    Thank you WSB for your stellar reporting and updates!! Seriously you are the best local news source around! Always the go-to place to find out what happening. Thank you!

  • Bill September 17, 2022 (10:34 pm)

    This pile of concrete and steel is a massive and unfortunate monument to the idiot of an engineer who designed it with a unique and, frankly, stupid design. Other bridges with steel infrastructure or suspension have lasted a 100 years or more.  This one a mere 36.  Lots of taxpayer dollars wasted here.  Yes, I’m happy it is open and angry over the layers of incompetence and lack of oversight which led to the issue in the first place.

    • bill September 18, 2022 (9:23 am)

      For the record I am a different Bill who has never denigrated the efforts and skill of the engineers and other professionals at SDOT who oversee our infrastructure on an inadequate budget.

  • GA September 17, 2022 (10:36 pm)

    It’s about time. I calculated that I sat for more than 15,000 minutes in the detour route over 2 1/2 years. That is more than 10 full days of my life that were wasted in that mess. Thank goodness we are reconnected. 

  • JB September 17, 2022 (10:36 pm)

    Aw man, there was so much TRAFFIC on the bridge tonight! I sure wish SDOT would do something about all these CARS clogging up the roads—

    —oh sorry, I turned into Jort there for a second.

    But still, it’s going to be fun listening to people complain about bridge traffic again instead of the bridge being broken. It’s back to normal in West Seattle, after a long 2 1/2 years. Thank goodness!

  • Duffy September 17, 2022 (10:49 pm)

    Hooray! Can someone check on Jort and make sure he isn’t having a nervous breakdown because of everyone celebrating and driving across the bridge right now to rejoice? I’m concerned…

    • Odd son September 18, 2022 (12:19 am)

      😂

    • Jort September 18, 2022 (1:40 am)

      Given the level of relentless, apoplectic meltdowns about the bridge closure from car drivers for the last two years as evidenced by thousands of comments, collisions and road rage shootings, I’m not so sure I am the one who needed to worry about a “nervous breakdown.” I will again note that it is among the saddest, most depressing things in the world that this community’s single-most unifying and pervasive cultural element is the accessibility of a bridge for cars. Seattle had the chance to actually make progress towards its goals of reducing carbon emissions from cars (our city’s single greatest source of emissions), but instead our “leaders” provided an unprecedentedly fast repair to a piece of infrastructure that will literally contribute to the death of our planet for future generations. Congratulations, car drivers. Have fun driving to Costco. 

      • Spicy Eight Piece September 18, 2022 (3:25 am)

        Well, I was going to offer to pick you up something, but now…

      • Canton September 18, 2022 (7:53 am)

        The freedom of mobility unites people in ways you may never understand…

        • Jort September 18, 2022 (1:24 pm)

          Oh, I fully understand the deeply-rooted psychological bond people have with their automobiles and with automobile culture. It is pervasive and inextricably linked with every facet of American society and you can see it for yourself in this comments section. If you choose to think of this dependency (on foreign oil, on the single-most individually expensive method of intracity transportation ever devised, on vehicles whose average selling price is ~$40,000, on dedicating the overwhelming majority of public and private land to the storage and movement of vehicles, on casually accepting an enormous, unforgivable amount of loss of life to car crashes) as “freedom,” perhaps we have different ideas of what “freedom” actually means. 

      • JB September 18, 2022 (8:27 am)

        tl;dr. Thanks Jort, appreciate your support!

      • Morgan September 18, 2022 (8:36 am)

        Costco was top of my list! 

      • divine September 18, 2022 (8:40 am)

        Jort,   As George Carlin so famously said, “The planet is fine.  The people are @#$%ed”.We are changing the biosphere to our detriment, but the planet will adapt, likely with humans in greatly diminished numbers or gone.  The problem is much deeper than BEVs  vs. ICEVs vs. bicycles.  It is about population and how we choose to live.  Frankly, whether somebody rides a bicycle or not makes little difference in the curves going up and then going down (nod to Gary Snyder’s  poem For the Children). Tiny steps of kindness and feel-goods make little difference, when  industrial civilization, unbridled by holistic system considerations, remains the real culprit.  Both you and I, and the bike riders and the Costco shoppers participate equally.   I will give an extra -2 to the petroleum companies that covered up the news around CO2, though, but we all burned that oil.   Deep supply chains of alternatives are a fail, and the engine rolls forward regardless.  Collapse is the result, and much of the social stress, in my mind, are symptoms of collapse, not moral issues with driving cars.  The drastic change needed to change course is politically extremely unlikely, and will still lead to much death.  The only real mitigation to warming is Ye Tao’s work that I know of, and that is just a small part of the problem.   (If you are going to fly the carbon emission flag, you really should dig into Ye Tao a bit.  The issue is complicated.)I am often guilty of the division your stance/presentation encourages, Jort.  I have to constantly remind myself that we are all in this together, and equally to blame.  Few of us were in a position of power to heed Johnson’s 1965 Scientific report on the environment.  Even then it would have taken extreme changes that were politically close to impossible.   Guy McPherson settled into “Only Love Remains”.  That is mostly true for me.  I do think that we can improve with how we envision future systems, though.  I doubt I’ll see that change in my lifetime, but at least I can push forward broader system perspectives and tools.The “saddest and most depressing thing” is that as humans we ignored solid science for over 50 years, and when it was too late to change we moved on to self-righteous hatred and division. 

      • HappyWSres September 18, 2022 (9:10 am)

        There’s our little ray of sunshine! 🌞 

      • Give It A Rest September 18, 2022 (11:37 am)

        Jort, you can put down that cross anytime you want.  Of course we all know you never will because you enjoy carrying it so much.

      • Roms September 18, 2022 (1:43 pm)

        Here’s a much faster precedent: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammersmith_flyover#Repair_work. Much much faster. So much faster.

  • Thank you! September 17, 2022 (10:51 pm)

    Thank you to the West Seattle Blog for making the bridge closure less painful over the past 2.5 years with all the in-depth reporting & regular traffic updates! 

  • RobinO September 17, 2022 (10:51 pm)

    Special thanks to the community members of Morgan Junction, Highland Park, White Center, Georgetown, South Park, and others I may have missed for dealing with the heavy traffic load and tapping into your patience over the past 900+ days.  Wishing everyone more peace and quiet starting tonight! 🙏

    • West Marge September 18, 2022 (8:35 am)

      And Riverside, on West Marginal. 

  • Ally September 17, 2022 (10:59 pm)

    On my way back home and you still can’t get on the bridge from I-5 south. Hopefully soon 🤞

  • Charlie September 17, 2022 (11:03 pm)

    I’d like to see everyone who made snarky comments about the bridge reopening date to publicly comment eating crow and acknowledge the hard work that SDOT put in to being as transparent and helpful as possible through an incredible challenge. Or maybe I should buy lottery tickets as that’s more likely to happen.

  • zipda September 17, 2022 (11:06 pm)

    Free at last

  • WS September 17, 2022 (11:08 pm)

    The ramp from 5 going south is closed. Was so excited to take the bridge after a show tonight but no luck. 😢 

  • Boop September 17, 2022 (11:08 pm)

    FYI, the entrance to the bridge from I-5 is currently closed. No bridge for me tonight. 🥺

  • HD September 17, 2022 (11:16 pm)

    Now let’s all remember, the speed limit on Fauntleroy is 25mph, even by the schools and parks. 

    • Slowdown September 18, 2022 (7:20 am)

      Seconding this! Yes please mind your speed on Fauntleroy. People, their kids and pets live here. 50mph will kill someone and only get you to the next stop light a few seconds faster. Be kind.

  • M September 17, 2022 (11:18 pm)

  • Alki resident September 17, 2022 (11:21 pm)

    Free kegger on top bridge at midnight. Valet parking available until it fills up. 

  • KM September 17, 2022 (11:51 pm)

    Our neighborhood is already so much quieter and less tense. I look forward to walks around the neighborhood again!

  • E Escobedo September 17, 2022 (11:53 pm)

    2 minutes 10 seconds is the new drive time to I-5 from the lower admiral entrance. Wow woot!

  • Buttercup September 17, 2022 (11:57 pm)

    The day of the bridge closed a crossed over at four times, it was close 20 minutes after my last trip. tonight I had to drive over it just to remember what a good friend that bridge is and we’re so glad that it’s back . Welcome back West Seattle Bridge!!💗💗

  • Jay September 18, 2022 (12:03 am)

    Just in time! Was heading to the ER just as it opened and thankfully had a short trip. We’re were one of the first cars across.

  • Kathy September 18, 2022 (12:41 am)

    What about the Spokane St. Bridge? Does it still have restricted hours?

    • WSB September 18, 2022 (12:42 am)

      As mentioned above, all restrictions on the low bridge (Spokane Street Swing Bridge) lifted the second the high bridge reopened.

  • West Marge September 18, 2022 (12:53 am)

    I live under the bridge, in Riverside, and I had forgotten the sound of the bridge traffic. It sounds like waves against a boat, sort of rhythmic, but not really. It’s familiar and comforting honestly. I’m looking forward to the big sigh of relief our little peninsula will breath tomorrow morning. #reconnected

  • Jim September 18, 2022 (12:57 am)

    Buses shouldn’t return to the high bridge AT ALL!

    • Reed September 18, 2022 (7:32 am)

      Too bad, they will, because moving a bus full of people is more important than moving you in your car. Facts matter.

    • Reserving excitement September 18, 2022 (7:39 am)

      I ride the bus everyday. Happy about the bridge, but a little disappointed how the reintroduction of cars will negatively impact bus routes. Make the 99North on ramp buses only during peak hours!

      • Bronson September 18, 2022 (8:10 am)

        Yes, let’s make everyone else’s lives who have to work and commute north of Seattle hell so the elitist office worker in downtown can have a quicker bus route. The biggest issue with NB 99 has been, and will remain, the unnecessary bus lane which should be reconfigured.

        • WestSeattleBadTakes September 18, 2022 (9:22 am)

          Reconfigured or removed? Those are two different things.

        • KM September 18, 2022 (10:49 am)

          Yes, the elitist people here are definitely the bus riders and not the people who can afford to own, maintain, insure, and drive a vehicle.

        • BJG September 18, 2022 (1:10 pm)

          The celebration of our bridge reopening is not even a day old and already there is name calling. Can’t we have a little grace here?  It’s already been so hard. Please?? Be nice for awhile?

  • Rhonda September 18, 2022 (1:19 am)

    The South Park Bridge just breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  • Ellen September 18, 2022 (1:41 am)

    Hugely disappointed on the way home at 1 AM from an event, so excited to take the bridge and finding the ramp from i5 south closed! Waaaah. 

  • WS_CSH September 18, 2022 (7:02 am)

    After 908 days….Mon,3/23/20 7:00 PM – Sat,9/17/22 9:13 PMWest Seattle Blog… | VIDEO: High-rise West Seattle Bridge closing TFN because of ‘deterioration’The city has announced an emergency closure of the high-rise West Seattle Bridge “until further notice,” starting at 7 pm tonight.

  • Brian September 18, 2022 (7:31 am)

    Left house in WSea at 6:55 this morning, arrived at Duthie hill bike park (between Issaquah and Fall City) at 7:20. 25 minutes this morning via bridge vs 65 min yesterday :-).

    • Tony September 18, 2022 (9:28 am)

      Same thing heading to exit 27 myself, so fast!

    • CAM September 18, 2022 (12:28 pm)

      Given the distance you covered I’m not sure why you felt it necessary to inform everyone you were averaging over 60 mph for every mile of that trip door to door. Unless of course you weren’t driving from West Seattle. 

  • Jill Loblaw September 18, 2022 (7:47 am)

    They sure did. That is a great work around route. I got a good education on the South Park area in general. I’m sorry that all those neighborhoods were deeply impacted. 

  • Audifans September 18, 2022 (7:54 am)

    Heh… nah…looks like it’s the same old Jort.  Fretting about how people can now enjoy going to costco easier.  For myself it’s going north to doctor/hospital appointments that are easier and less consuming of the entire day.  Costco is just a bonus on the return trip. :)

    • ARPigeonPoint September 18, 2022 (1:16 pm)

      Costco is where I get gas. ;)

  • Mark September 18, 2022 (8:05 am)

    I am so glad to see most of the comments here are happy and joyous. Some still feel the need to complain. I have read this blog and been mostly disheartened by the comments over the months and the attitude of so many. How about taking at least one moment to recognize and thank the dozens and dozens of people that worked their tails off to get this done. This is hard and dangerous work. It was many long hours, nights, weekends, holidays, time away from family and most of them don’t live in west Seattle and some don’t live here at all. A lot of people made a lot of effort and sacrifice to get this done because this is their job. So please before more complaints about SDOT and the engineering process most of you will never understand, take a second to recognize that many people made many sacrifice sacrifices to get this done. 

    • Delridge Resident September 18, 2022 (9:25 am)

      Thank you for this comment!  It is a breath of fresh air (and always was) to see the words of encouragement and support from the community to the teams behind the planning, design, and construction of this project (and many more teams, I’m sure).  Thank you to everyone who put in all the late hours I know you did to get this done as fast as you could, and more importantly as safely as you could.  Congratulations, I hope you all have a well deserved celebration and even more well earned time off!

    • Barb Z September 18, 2022 (10:20 am)

      Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  • LKandJ September 18, 2022 (8:21 am)

    Thanks to everyone!
    WSB for outstanding reporting.
    WS Community for hanging in there and being resilient.
    Commuters for their patience.
    WS Merchants for taking the hit financially.
    WS Brewers for making us outstanding beer!

  • Michele September 18, 2022 (9:30 am)

    As a Highland Park resident, thank you SDOT for all the hard work to open the Bridge. Also helping our community to mitigate some of the impacts. 

  • cjboffoli September 18, 2022 (9:48 am)

    One more hat tip to Tracy and Patrick for the excellent soup-to-nuts coverage. I feel like the re-opening of the bridge is liberating in that it has made certain parts of the city accessible to me again.  There are areas I just haven’t visited in a couple of years simply because it was not worth the hassle and the time investment.  There are a number of businesses that I just haven’t had the opportunity to patronize in a couple of years. They probably chalk it up to pandemic changes. but I’d guess there are others in West Seattle like me who likewise spent more of their dollars on the peninsula simply because it was vastly more convenient. Though it seems that no one has taken the time to crunch the numbers on this, I’d really love to know what the total economic impact of this bridge closure has been. Calculating lost time and productivity, extra fuel spent, wear on tear on vehicles, extra pollution, loss of sales (for businesses on and off the peninsula) the economic impact easily must be in the many billions of dollars. 

  • sally September 18, 2022 (10:56 am)

    Yeah! So thankful that it is open….Also thankful that the drive from my North Delridge office to meetings in Edmonds or other places north of the city will not include a 45 minute detour just to get to 99! :) 

  • Mj September 18, 2022 (11:18 am)

    Wow, 15 minutes to the UW versus 45 last Sunday AM!  

  • Cranky September 18, 2022 (11:20 am)

    Jort goes on about car emissions. The 2.5 year closure of the bridge increased car emissions a lot due to sitting in traffic and sitting at the bridge closures. The bridge open now will get car exhausts way down due to traffic flow and efficiency at speed.  Very grateful to having a bridge for multiple reasons

    • Jeff September 18, 2022 (12:58 pm)

      That’s a backwards way of looking at car emissions. The closure should have forced more bike usage if anything. Jort is always right. Sorry.

      • uncle loco September 18, 2022 (1:39 pm)

        Yeah Jeff, all of those vehicles idling in traffic for the last 2.5 years never happened. It was all just our imagination…

    • Jort September 18, 2022 (1:11 pm)

      Making it easier to drive means more people drive, which means more emissions. The “what about the emissions from congestion” canard is pretty well disproven and is left to the realm of people desperately seeking absolution for their roles in individually contributing to the long-term destruction of the planet’s climate. If you actually want to reduce emissions you must actually reduce car driving. This is not complicated. 

      • Jill Loblaw September 20, 2022 (8:10 am)

        Jort: You simply cannot admit that not everyone can use alternate modes of transportation to their job. I drive to Issaquah for mine. I would love to see what your solution is. I vanpooled for 18 years and will do so again but in the meantime tell me that I should bike to Issaquah. Stop complaining and let others enjoy the bridge without your condescending attitude. 

        • Jort September 21, 2022 (2:45 pm)

          Yes, actually, everybody can use alternate modes of transportation when you design your society around alternative modes instead of cars. Other countries have done this for decades and yet we in America pretend that somehow we will be the first society in human history to succeed at automobile-focused transportation planning. There’s no solution for your drive to Issaquah right now, but the time to start designing our transportation policy around alternatives to cars was well beyond yesterday. And that begins by recognizing our failures as a society and working to change them. Just because it doesn’t work for you, right now, doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can ever do so let’s give up. 

  • drMh September 18, 2022 (11:47 am)

    Well, from here in Australia, ‘Yipee”. “Hallelujah”!!

  • Snack September 18, 2022 (12:16 pm)

    How about a big thank you from all of us not on the multiple WSB  detour routes to all the folks along the WSB detour who put up with the increased car pollution and traffic mess for 2 1/2 years. Do so something nice for our detour residents, flowers, cookies, tickets to  a Seahawk, Sounders or Mariner  game , or a simple thank you would be healing.❤️

    • Brian Romas September 19, 2022 (1:54 pm)

      I like to think that I thanked (sounds alliterative, not intended) the folks along the WSB detour by extending my purchasing power their way.  From the Live Butcher, Pho Tai and Full Tilt to that weird crab/seafood wholesaler down in G’Town, I spread my cash pretty broadly due to the bridge closure.  I will continue to patronize many of these businesses, as White Center is pretty dope and is getting even doper every day.  Keep White Center weird!

  • AlkiDude September 18, 2022 (3:08 pm)

    Just got back from Costco – 10 minute trip instead of 30+.  Super crowded there today, lots of people were talking about taking the bridge to get there.  The nice thing was – even though it was super crowded,  everyone was in a great mood.    It’s nice to bond with people over an event that affects us all and something we all used to take for granted.   Talking to people at work in Ballard yesterday, if you don’t live in West Seattle, it’s not a big deal at all.  The rest of the city has no idea what kind of hardships we had to endure for the past 2+ years.   Once again, it’s great to live in West Seattle – the best part of Seattle for sure!  Yay Us!Long Live the West Seattle Bridge!

    • Derek September 19, 2022 (2:06 pm)

      Just wait until Magnolia or Ballard bridge needs repairs. Both are due for major upgrades. 

  • sam-c September 18, 2022 (7:13 pm)

    I have not been across the newly re-opened bridge yet.  But, had my first, bridge reopening moment this evening. Based on where we were coming from and where we were going, our best route was NB on 599 and then up Highland Park Way.  We came back to WS and there wasn’t a line up of cars waiting to get to 99N.  It was such a beautiful sight and I finally got to experience the joy of the opened West Seattle bridge.

    • Sunday Driver September 18, 2022 (10:35 pm)

      Sam-c wait till you see the views from on top of the bridge. It’ll bring a tear to your eyes. 

  • Balderdash September 19, 2022 (10:14 pm)

    Jort declares he knows all. …Conveniently forgets about electric cars. Since our electricity  in Seattle is 80 percent from hydroelectric dams, you can still drive a car and not be polluting…..He just doesn’t like cars…. maybe he never ever leaves home

    • Kathy September 21, 2022 (9:29 am)

      For people who are able to drive and have no other choice but to drive, an electric car is a good choice. It greatly reduces noise and air pollution. However, driving an EV still contributes to shedding toxic tire dust that washes into our waterways, and it’s another car that adds to traffic conjestion that results in many gas burning cars idling and polluting. If you can, walking, biking and public transportation are the better choices. Too bad it is so much more convenient to get around in a car in Seattle than on public transportation. We need to change that. Metro KC should be beating the bushes for more drivers and more funding. As it is, people will always opt for the faster, more convenient mode of travel, to the detriment of our planet.

    • Jort September 21, 2022 (2:48 pm)

      The issues with car emissions will be greatly helped but not eliminated by the switch to electric cars. However, the other problems with automobile-focused transportation design (of which there are many) will not go away. The issue with cars is a hard-and-fast geometrical imitation. There simply is no possible way for thriving societies and automobiles to co-exist, without catastrophic trade-offs. Most countries around the world have realized this and adapted to this indisputable reality: America will, too, someday, though it will take time. But, eventually, it will happen, because at the end of the day this is an issue of inescapable geometric limitations and America will not be the first society in human history to literally break the laws of geometry.

  • Jay September 21, 2022 (8:49 am)

    I was one of the first people across! Had to got to the ER and had someone drive me at around 9:10, and I was so incredibly grateful to see that the bridge had just opened moments before and my trip to the hospital went way quicker than expected.

  • Kathy September 21, 2022 (9:36 am)

    I haven’t driven across yet, but I biked through the Chelan intersection yesterday and it is a blessing that there are fewer cars polluting in that intersection (will not miss all the road rage, bad driving behavior and cars blocking the crosswalks during the detour). Also, a few weeks ago I had to drive my husband to the emergency room downtown. The EMTs told me I could use the lower bridge, but when we got there, the bridge was open. So for getting to the emergency room alone, it is a great thing to have the WS Bridge open again, given the limited medical resources we have on the peninsula. Going by ambulance will cost you an arm and a leg.

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