UPDATE: West Seattle low-bridge trouble, fixed again

12:18 PM: Thanks for the tips. The West Seattle low bridge has been having trouble off and on for the past hour. It’s closed again right now, so avoid it TFN.

12:50 PM: Live camera shows it’s working again.

Rooster October 17, 2024 (12:44 pm)

Yup. Got caught up in this on my bike. Got soaked waiting for bridge to close. Gave up and on the water taxi now.

DaveB October 17, 2024 (1:30 pm)

I was the person ahead of you. I took the 1st ave/west marginal route home and got even more soaked. ;) Hope you’re warm and dry now (as I am).
- Rooster October 17, 2024 (7:30 pm)
  
  Thank you Dave B. I kicked myself for not bringing rain gear today. Was able to warm up on the Water Taxi.

BM October 17, 2024 (12:47 pm)

Why they decided to build this glacially slow moving, over-engineered, prone to fail, high maintenance swing bridge vanity project is beyond me.Should have just built a much cheaper, quicker to open/close drawbridge (bascule) bridge like 1st Ave.

WS Res October 17, 2024 (1:02 pm)

The answer to your question is available.
- DaveB October 17, 2024 (1:33 pm)
  
  Thanks, WS RES!
- CautiousDriver October 17, 2024 (4:24 pm)
  
  Your link doesn’t seem to work.Can you create another?Or type the URL?
- WS Subject October 17, 2024 (4:34 pm)
  
  I guess that settles it… They decided to build a vanity project, because they wanted to build a vanity project
  - bill October 17, 2024 (8:29 pm)
    
    WS Subject: No, the bridge was not a vanity project: “The swing bridge was chosen because it provided greater horizontal clearance and cost less than a bascule design. It also best fit the available site….”
sf October 17, 2024 (2:16 pm)

…. but then what would you use your list of derisive adjectives to complain about?!We need cool new ideas, artistic and sometimes a bit frivolous to make it through. Otherwise, the world is nothing but concrete brutalist architectured strip malls.Personally, I suggest we incorporate this into the next generation of water taxi.
bill October 17, 2024 (8:32 pm)

BM: “Prone to fail?” Exactly how many times has the bridge failed in 33 years?

CarDriver October 17, 2024 (1:12 pm)

WSB. Is SDOT saying what these issues are attributable to? The last accident or maintenance work that’s been deferred? or???

WestSeattlecyclist October 18, 2024 (12:22 pm)

As a bike commuter that crosses that bridge twice a day- isn’t there a way to sign up for real time notifications when the bridge is closed? Seems like we should get texts!

MrsL October 19, 2024 (10:26 am)

You can follow SDOTBridges on X (formerly Twitter). It all the Seattle bridges tho. It doesn’t alert to closings beforehand, just when the bridges have closed or opened.