If you are, or someone you know is, headed for the westbound Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge any time soon, be forewarned – there’s a slick of some kind, and it’s reported to have caused some drivers to lose control. No injuries reported so far, according to police/dispatch exchanges, but some have hit the barrier. SDOT has been dispatched for a cleanup.
8:37 PM: In the midst of another wave of rain, there’s been another crash on the West Seattle Bridge. Two lanes are blocked on the eastbound bridge at 99 for what’s been described as a one-vehicle collision – the driver “hit the wall” (the jersey barriers, as best we can tell). So if you have to head toward I-5 any time soon, give yourself extra time or consider an alternative.
8:54 PM: No serious injuries reported, and the scene has just cleared.
1:53 PM: SPD and SFD are on their way to a reported “rollover” crash on the west end of the West Seattle Bridge, near the Walking on Logs pullout. The driver is reported to be safely out of her vehicle.
1:58 PM: Police tell dispatch “no lanes are blocked” by this crash.
8:42 PM: Avoid the eastbound bridge for a while – SFD and SPD are at the scene of a crash at the 99 overpass and traffic is clogged in that area. Initial reports suggested possible serious injuries.
8:51 PM: Only one eastbound lane is getting through at the scene right now.
8:57 PM: According to police radio, it’s believed this was caused by one driver spinning out and winding up in the path of another that couldn’t avoid colliding. No life-threatening injuries.
9:55 PM: The crash scene is now clear and lanes have reopened.
3:22 PM: SFD and SPD are arriving at a reported crash on the Delridge offramp from the westbound bridge, with a “rescue extrication” response. More to come.
3:25 PM: Responders report everyone is out of the one vehicle that crashed, so they’re downsizing the response. … They’re calling for help cleaning up a fuel spill.
(September 2020 photo by Tony Welch – bridge with stabilization-work platforms)
No commemorations are planned that we know of, just the daily drumbeat of vehicles making the crossing, but we wanted to note that today marks one year since the West Seattle Bridge reopened. The city closed it with just a few hours’ notice March 23, 2020, after cracking left engineers concerned about collapse risk. Stabilization work ensued, followed by repair work, and finally after 2 1/2 years, the bridge was reopened to traffic just after 9 pm Saturday, September 17, 2022. Our coverage of how those 2 1/2 years unfolded is all archived here (reverse-chronological order, as per our publishing format).
ORIGINAL THURSDAY REPORT: Three and a half weeks after SDOT announced it would install a bus-lane-enforcement camera on the West Seattle Bridge, installation is scheduled for this weekend. SDOT just sent word that crews will be working on the bridge Saturday (September 9th) “between about 7 am and 5 pm to allow for installation of the camera as well as warning signs and Seattle City Light inspection.” After that, there will be a 30-day grace period before SDOT activates the camera. This is part of a “pilot program” in which the city also has transit-lane and “block the box” cameras downtown. The first violation will get you a warning letter; the second, a $75 fine.
P.S. The installation is the second project that’s likely to affect eastbound traffic on the high bridge Saturday – the ramp to southbound I-5 will be closed from late Friday to early Sunday.
ADDED FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Much discussion below centers on whether you’ll be ticketed simply for crossing the lane. We asked SDOT to clarify. Here’s what spokesperson Mariam Ali sent:
Here is a clip from the design plans that shows the detection zone in yellow-green:
Anyone mistakenly in the exit-only lane will have ample space to change lanes to the thru lanes before the exit gore.
7:46 AM: Fire and police are at the scene of a crash that’s requiring someone to be extricated from a vehicle. This is at/near the north end of Delridge Way by the bridge. Updates to come.
7:50 AM: SFD medics are describing this as a vehicle hitting a West Seattle Bridge “pillar” at high speed and that the passenger who had to be cut out of the car has life-threatening injuries. … SFD says he is a man in his mid-20s. The driver got out of the car unassisted.
8:05 AM: A commenter says the Avalon entrance to the bridge is blocked. The logged address of the crash site is Fire Station 36 under the bridge – our crew is still en route so we haven’t seen the scene yet.
(WSB photos)
8:13 AM: Our crew just sent that photo from the scene. They explain the location as alongside the ramp up to the bridge from Avalon/Harbor, alongside the north side of Nucor – here’s another photo:
8:22 AM: Dispatch just told officers that Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives are on the way. … Dispatch is trying to find a better address to update the log (the initial address, 3600 23rd SW, as noted above, is the location of Fire Station 36, but this happened west of there). Both men people in the car were taken to the hospital, the passenger in critical condition, the driver less seriously hurt.
8:50 AM: Live video from the closest traffic camera – under the bridge at Avalon/Harbor/Spokane – shows vehicles are being allowed to turn onto the ramp.
11:51 AM: We don’t have an update on the passenger yet, but the driver is a 20-year-old man, SFD says, who was in stable condition when transported.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Still no official update but commenters identifying themselves as a friend and relative say the passenger has died.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: Police have just confirmed that via this SPD Blotter post. They say the passenger who died was a 16-year-old boy and that the 20-year-old driver “showed signs of impairment … and was arrested for (investigation of) vehicular homicide.”
We’ve heard from three readers about a hazardous “pothole” on the West Seattle Bridge, so we’re sharing the heads-up, in advance of checking with SDOT tomorrow about repair plans. Mike was first to describe it:
Heads up for drivers headed Eastbound on the West Seattle Bridge. There’s missing pavement in the right lane at the curve high above Avalon. It appears that this is occurring in the newly grooved pavement as you head to the Bridge proper. For now you can drive around it but since it’s on the curve the hazard comes up quickly.
There are multiple ways to report problems like this on city streets and structures – SDOT’s hotline is 206-684-ROAD; an online reporting form is linked here, as is the city’s map of what’s been reported and/or fixed recently – which shows work is “pending” on this one.
Just announced by SDOT: The city is adding three new traffic-enforcement cameras, and one of them will be for bus-lane violations on the West Seattle Bridge (the other two will be downtown block-the-box cameras). From the announcement:
… The new cameras will allow the city to collect a larger data set for a more robust analysis of the impact and effectiveness of these types of automated enforcement programs. The city expects to install the cameras at the three identified locations at the beginning of September. There will be a 30-day warning period to ensure the public has adequate notice to learn the rules of the road. … The locations were selected due to the large volume of pedestrians present combined with a high rate of observed violations by drivers.
This is part of a “pilot program” resulting from legislative authorization of more uses for automated enforcement cameras. Separate from the one-month grace period, the city says, first-time violators will get a warning letter, and $75 tickets after that. Where does the money go? The announcement notes:
Under state law, half of the net revenue from the traffic cameras will go to a Washington Traffic Safety Commission fund for bicycle and pedestrian safety projects, and the other half of the net revenue must be used to build safety and mobility improvements for people with disabilities in Seattle. SDOT plans to invest this in building more accessible walk signals which vibrate and make a noise to let people with limited vision or hearing know when it is safe to cross the street.
As with other automated enforcement cameras – like school-zone speeding and red-light running – the announcement notes, “To protect privacy, the cameras will only record vehicle license plates and not the people inside the car. The photos are only intended to be used for enforcing the bus lane and blocking the box laws, and are not intended for other law enforcement action.”
4:58 PM: Thanks for the texted tip: The ramp from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge to northbound Highway 99 is blocked. Neither WSDOT nor SDOT had anything in their traffic alerts but we flagged them on Twitter/X and now the live camera has swung around to show something involving two buses:
5:14 PM: SDOT’s traffic center has spun the camera away without any explanation of this incident so far, so we won’t know when it ends, but just know if you’re heading east you MIGHT need extra time.
6:07 PM: A commenter says a friend made it through just fine, so apparently the incident is over.
11:54 PM: Police are at the scene of what they describe as a rollover crash on the westbound West Seattle Bridge, by the onramp from 1st Avenue South.
11:56 PM: Seattle Fire is now sending a “rescue extrication” response.
12 AM: Police say they’re temporarily blocking the westbound bridge. Meantime, arriving SFD units describe this as a car-on-side crash.
12:03 AM: Firefighters say no one is trapped, so they’re downsizing the response.
12:40 AM: Officers just told dispatch they’re reopening the bridge. Meantime, we haven’t heard any info about injuries, so we’ll follow up with SFD.
1:07 AM: Added a photo sent by Valentine, who reports helping pull the driver out of her car and says she was taken to a hospital.
9:22 AM: SFD confirms the 19-year-old woman was in stable condition when taken to a hospital.
2:19 PM: Another crash of note – this one reported on the westbound West Seattle Bridge, and reported to involve an incident-response truck as well as a second vehicle. SFD and SPD are both responding. The exact location isn’t clear, and it’s currently out of traffic-camera range.
2:38 PM: Adding reader photos. The one above shows the crash location and resulting backup; in the one below you can see, in the background,, part of the damage to the response truck and other vehicle.
Wider view:
We’ll be checking with SFD regarding injuries.
3:40 PM: Officers have just told dispatch that all lanes on the bridge are open again. Meantime, SFD tells us two people were hurt – a 39-year-old man and 22-year-old man, both in stable condition when taken to hospitals. SDOT confirms its truck – one of five usually deployed around the city – was responding to another incident when hit.
4:24 PM: SPD confirms that “the 22-year-old driver was taken into custody for suspicion of DUI.”
10:50 AM: For those who’ve passed this in the last 15 minutes or so and wondered: Police responded to a report of a person walking on the West Seattle Bridge near the Delridge offramp. That happens more often than you might expect. When officers reached the person, the person was reportedly combative, so officers called for backup. The situation is reported to be under control now but is (or was) briefly blocking one or two westbound lanes.
10:55 AM: SFD medics have been called; we don’t know yet whether for the detained person, police, or both.
4:19 PM: SFD tells us the person was a woman around 30 years old and: “She was transported to Harborview for further care. Reported as suspected drug use.”
Those lane closures that were supposed to happen last night for West Seattle Bridge maintenance work didn’t happen after all, SDOT says, due to crew availability. So all the work is supposed to be done tonight. It’s scheduled to start as early as 9 pm and be completed no later than 5 am, with one lane open each way in the work zone
Nine months after the West Seattle Bridge reopened following its 2 1/2-year closure, no new problems, says SDOT. But it’s maintenance time, and some work postponed last month is now set to start at 9 pm tomorrow night. Here’s the SDOT announcement:
We are planning overnight lane closures on the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge to perform routine preventative maintenance this Tuesday and Wednesday. There are no problems with the bridge, and crews will be working to protect the interior of the bridge by applying waterproof sealant to access hatches along the surface of the bridge deck.
The closure will begin at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27 and end by 5 a.m. the following morning. If necessary, the closure will be repeated the following night (Wednesday, June 28). This work requires dry weather and is subject to change. The bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction overnight between State Route 99 and Delridge Way SW. All on- and off-ramps will remain open as normal.
Three months after the West Seattle Bridge crash that ended two young lives, the driver charged with killing the two 18-year-old victims has been booked into jail. The King County Jail roster shows 36-year-old Delfino Lopez-Morales was booked Saturday, as was expected to happen as soon as he was released from the hospital. He is scheduled to appear in King County Superior Court tomorrow for arraignment on the charges filed against him three weeks ago – two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving. Lopez-Morales’s bail is set at $250,000. Prosecutors say he was driving 100 mph, under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, going the wrong way on the westbound West Seattle Bridge, when he smashed into the car in which Khalea Thoeuk and Riley Danard, Snohomish County residents, were heading to Alki Beach in the early-morning hours of March 22nd. Before being booked into jail, Lopez-Morales was at Harborview Medical Center for more than a month and then, according to court documents, moved to rehab at UW Medical Center.
Several readers have mentioned it’s slow going on the westbound West Seattle Bridge, east of 99 – and this is why: One of those periodic backups of port-bound trucks. So if you’re headed this way from off-peninsula, you might consider an alternate route.
6:06 PM: That’s the traffic-camera view of a two-car crash on the westbound West Seattle Bridge. SPD and SFD are just arriving. No word on whether anyone’s hurt.
6:10 PM: One person is reported injured. The right two lanes are now blocked off by the crash and the emergency response, plus it’s been raining hard for a while now, so if you are headed that way from off-peninsula, allow yourself extra time.
6:16 PM: Now a second crash is reported on the bridge “blocking one of the center lanes,” though we haven’t heard/seen where, only that no one is hurt in that one.
6:31 PM: Another westbound lane has reopened, leaving only the outer WB lane blocked, near the crest.
7:31 PM: Tow truck is on scene to take away the last car left from the original collision. The officer there just told dispatch he’s heard of yet another crash somewhere else on the westbound side.
(Added: Photo sent by Heather)
Thanks for the tips. A crash near the Delridge onramp is blocking all but 1 lane of the eastbound bridge.
(Photo sent by Rose)
The balloons on the recently rescued statue of Rolf Neslund mark the 45th anniversary of what led to the biggest West Seattle Bridge closure yet. On June 11, 1978, Neslund was piloting the freighter Antonio Chavez when it hit the north side of what was at the time the main bridge across the Duwamish River to/from West Seattle. That led to a bridge closure more than twice as long as the one we all recently endured. After the 1978 collision, it was six years until construction was complete on the current high-rise bridge, which was dedicated on July 14, 1984 (so next year will be its 40th anniversary). This city-produced video about the bridge’s history includes historic photos and video, as well as some of the city process that finally resulted in a plan to build the bridge, plus in the final few minutes, the dedication of the “low bridge” in 1991:
So far, no problems have been reported with the high bridge since it reopened nine months ago, following a 2 1/2-year closure.
(SDOT camera image from shortly after crash)
Two and a half months after two 18-year-olds died when a wrong-way driver hit them on the West Seattle Bridge, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges. 36-year-old West Seattle resident Delfino Lopez-Morales is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving. We have been watching court files closely ever since the crash, and just found the charging documents. In them, investigators say he had a blood-alcohol level of .14, almost twice the legal limit, three hours after the crash, and a THC level suggesting he had used cannabis within a few hours of the crash. Court documents add that an empty beer bottle was found in the truck he was driving. The two victims, Khalea Thoeuk and Riley Danard, both from Snohomish County and on their way to Alki to celebrate Riley’s birthday, were killed instantly. The charging documents say Lopez-Morales, driving a friend’s truck, was going 100 mph when he hit them. He was seriously injured and has been under medical care since the crash, at Harborview Medical Center until sometime in the first half of May, when he moved to rehab. Here’s the investigator’s narrative from the charging documents:
(SDOT camera image)
Another advisory about possible traffic effects from road work later this week – this time, on the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s the announcement from SDOT:
We are planning overnight lane closures on the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge to perform routine preventative maintenance this Wednesday and Thursday. There are no problems with the bridge, and crews will be working to protect the interior of the bridge by applying waterproof sealant to access hatches along the surface of the bridge deck.
The closure will begin at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 and end by 5 a.m. the following morning. If necessary, the closure will be repeated the following night (Thursday, May 25). This work requires dry weather and is subject to change. The bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction overnight between State Route 99 and Delridge Way SW. All on- and off-ramps will remain open as normal.
3:32 PM: Just got an update from SDOT that this work has been postponed “due to a delayed materials shipment.” No new date yet.
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