Tomorrow marks two weeks since the West Seattle low-bridge breakdown left it out of service to street and path traffic. Here’s the latest:
That’s SDOT director Greg Spotts visiting the low bridge today for a firsthand look at the repair work. (He chronicled his visit in this Twitter thread.) No new estimates of how long the bridge will be closed, though. We asked today if there’s a date yet for removing the leaky cylinder, which SDOT says has to be done before they can estimate a timeline for repairs; spokesperson Ethan Bergerson replied, “We’re continuing our preparations, such as securing all the necessary equipment, and haven’t scheduled the exact day and time yet.” (Back on Tuesday, he said they hoped to remove it within a week.) We also asked how long until they announced details of the plan to offer free Water Taxi and bus rides; Bergerson said, “We are currently working with King County Metro to finalize everything in order to offer free transit. We hope to be able to make an announcement tomorrow.” SDOT reps told West Seattle Bike Connections on Tuesday that the free rides – funded by city dollars – would be available to everyone, not just bike riders, whose only alternative to the low bridge is a lengthy detour about which riders have raised safety concerns.
The low bridge broke down on December 23rd, with SDOT blaming multiple issues, most significantly an “intensified” leak in one of the four 15,000-pound cylinders that open and close the 31-year-old bridge for vessel traffic.
ADDED 10:23 AM: While we await full details, SDOT wants to reiterate what we reported Tuesday night – that the free-ride offer will be available via the Transit GO app, so if you’re interested, you’ll need to download that in advance.
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