UPDATE: West Seattle low bridge trouble

(Added: Screenshot from low-bridge camera, with trucks waiting at 1:23 pm)

Thanks for the tip! Right after a texter told us the low bridge (aka Spokane Street Swing Bridge) appeared to be having trouble, SDOT issued a traffic alert confirming it. So far, they’re citing “technical issues.”

2:18 PM: Live camera shows the bridge is open again.

ADDED: SDOT’s explanation:

We were doing test openings to help us understand and resolve ongoing technical issues related to the damage which occurred when a vehicle drove through the warning gates and hit a moving barricade in September 2024.

Snug Harbor February 27, 2025 (3:53 pm)

The low bridge (aka Brokane Street Swing Bridge) is an important piece of the city’s infrastructure. Hang in there, little low bridge, pedestrians, bikes, cars, trucks, even marine traffic need you!

Annoyed February 27, 2025 (4:23 pm)

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Looking at the list of projects using the levy money we voted for, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be properly fixed for a long time. With the various issues the bridge has had in just the last year alone it’s crazy it even still works somewhat. SDOT needs to dedicate time and money to do proper repairs and not just band aids.
- bill February 27, 2025 (5:12 pm)
  
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  The levy was planned before the most recent dufus thought it would be fun to ram the barricade. Odds are this is more damage from that episode manifesting itself.
  - annoyed February 28, 2025 (8:48 am)
    
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    Regardless of when the levy was planned, the city’s bridges have been in such a state of disrepair and lack of proper maintenance for many many years the can has been constantly kicked down the road and it’s rapidly catching up to SDOT. SDOT has received many grants, levies, and budget allocations over the years, yet it seems to an outside observer that only band aid repairs have been done. I am not saying it’s not possible, but I find it highly unlikely that every single issue on the bridge no matter where on the bridge the issue is is tied to that one gate on the east side of the bridge. To me this seems like just an excuse. Also, why hasn’t that issue been fixed? whats taking so long?To the people who want them to just demolish the bridge and put in a regular drawbridge…That would take probably 10 years or more, and a regular drawbridge would not fit in that area due to the high bridge and the weird angle the roadway is at that crossing. The cost of demolishing and replacing the bridge alone would be close to the 10’s of billions of dollars, and you also have to factor in how long would the river be blocked to the businesses that use it? SDOT needs desperately to take several years to just dedicate their resources to repair and maintenance of the bridges or at some point the bridges will become unrepairable.
- Jay February 27, 2025 (6:27 pm)
  
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  I wish they’d just tear down the one-of-a-kind bridge and build a cheaper and more reliable bridge using best practices.
  - AF February 28, 2025 (1:17 pm)
    
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    “cheaper” hahahahaha. Yeah right. Replacing it would be half a billion now.