TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Thursday info, 2nd day of closure for ramp to NB 99

6:00 AM: Good morning. It’s Thursday, May 4th. This is the second full day of closure for the ramp from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge to northbound Highway 99:

WSDOT said on Wednesday (as we reported here) that it expects repairs to take 10 days. Here’s the 5′ x 4′ hole that led to the shutdown Tuesday night:

(WSB photo, Wednesday)

Meantime, you can get to NB 99 via the 1st Avenue South Bridge, or by taking the WS Bridge’s 1st Avenue South exit and getting onto 99 in SODO.

TRANSIT

Metro – Downtown-bound buses that usually take the high bridge to NB 99 are detouring while the ramp is closed. Otherwise, regular schedule, but trip cancellations are still happening.

Water Taxi – Continuing the spring/summer schedule.

Washington State Ferries‘ Triangle Route continues on the 2-boat schedule but with the chance of sailing cancellations, so check here for alerts/updates and see Vessel Watch for boats’ locations.

OTHER SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Henderson), cameras are also up at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Orchard, and Delridge/Oregon.

High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):

Low Bridge – east-end vicinity:

1st Ave. S. Bridge – another route across the river:

Highway 99: – the northbound side at Lander.

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed to see if the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.

WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

Clouds and a chance of pm rain, high in the low 60, breezy tonight. Sunrise was at 5:48 am; sunset will be at 8:26 pm.

If you see trouble on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities). Thank you!

kroberts May 4, 2023 (7:10 am)

Just received a message from Vashon schools that only one ferry is running this morning.

WSB May 4, 2023 (8:40 am)

WSF did not tweet any changes to FVS but the alerts webpage says 2 boat service was restored by 8:13, so whatever was happening is over…

JTM May 4, 2023 (8:38 am)

Yikes, this 1st Avenue bus detour is miserable. The C line from 35th and Avalon took DOUBLE the amount of normal time to get downtown this morning. Hopefully this is truly only a 10 day fix.

WSB May 4, 2023 (8:50 am)

I don’t know if it factored into your commute but there was a brief blockage at 1st/Hanford (north of the WS Bridge) – I was just going to add it above but SDOT says it’s been cleared.
- JTM May 4, 2023 (8:57 am)
  
  I didn’t notice that. It had more to do with hitting seemingly every red light on 1st Ave, instead of just zooming down 99.

bus commuter May 4, 2023 (8:58 am)

Reminder if you’re driving taking 1st Ave into downtown, please yield to buses! It is not going to affect your commute significantly – there are a lot of people on the bus that also have somewhere to be :))

David May 4, 2023 (10:33 am)

This doesn’t just apply to 1st Ave. This is the law everywhere in the state if WA. I’ve seen many complaints about “bus bulbs”. These were built into many of the rapid ride routes to avoid the time lost when the bus is trying to pull back into traffic and nobody is yielding. My advice to motorists is, if you don’t like bus bulbs and don’t want to see more implemented, then let the bus back into traffic when you see it signalling to get back into traffic.
- flimflam May 4, 2023 (11:19 am)
  
  David, while that is often true, sometimes buses try to just lurch back into traffic after stopping with blinking lights – no turn signal to indicate they intend to merge back in, just blast back in.

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