West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:59 AM: Another rainy morning, with traffic trouble in multiple places. We start with word of a stalled vehicle blocking the right lane on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge, before Delridge, and a crash on the NB 1st Avenue South Bridge. About the latter, a texter says, “Traffic backed up Olson Place/Myers Way to Roxbury. Alternate routes completely advised.”
7:14 AM: WSDOT says the 1st Avenue S. Bridge crash has cleared but as always, backups will linger. As for the West Seattle Bridge, looks like a tow truck has arrived.
7:28 AM: At Delridge/Kenyon, police are responding to a 120 bus with someone reported to be harassing the driver. Haven’t heard whether NB or SB.
7:44 AM: High-bridge stall has cleared – backup of course will take a while – and low bridge is up. Wait a while before leaving if you can.
7:47 AM: This won’t help the bridge – now there’s a problem on NB I-5 just south of the I-90 exit.
7:57 AM: The low bridge has reopened.
8:24 AM: Still getting reports that most paths to the West Seattle Bridge remain backed up. Seems to be a multitude of incidents, earlier and current, affecting things – now there’s yet another NB I-5 problem on the south side of downtown, a stalled vehicle near Seneca Street.
8:44 AM: And another crash on the West Seattle Bridge, per scanner.
8:56 AM: Also via scanner – that’s now clear.
9:03 AM: New one from the scanner – stalled vehicle NB at Olson/Myers.
10:30 AM: If you’re headed out, avoid NB 99. A two-vehicle crash on the Alaskan Way Viaduct – one vehicle on its side – is blocking the road and already resulting in backups, as the webcam above shows.
10:44 AM: Update from SDOT:
UPDATE: Collision now also blocking SB left lane on the Viaduct. Expect heavy delays. pic.twitter.com/noP7sBjUz0
— seattledot (@seattledot) November 1, 2016
10:50 AM: Metro just texted that the C Line and Routes 120/125 are routed off NB 99, and will be diverting onto 1st Avenue S. instead.
11:10 AM: Via scanner, it’s confirmed that traffic is getting through, one lane NB, but that still means slow going.
11:59 AM UPDATE: Thanks for the photo, taken from Pike Place Market by an anonymous reader who says pieces of railing/siding fell away – which is why SDOT is still working at the scene, and one lane remains closed in each direction. No major injuries reported, by the way.
12:48 PM: Metro just texted to say the buses that use the NB Viaduct are all back on their regular routes.
2:38 PM: SDOT says the NB lanes are all open now; the left SB lane remains closed.
5 PM: Sorry, we had that backward; SDOT was working in the left NB lane – and still is, per this tweet a few minutes ago – while the SB lanes have all reopened.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:02 AM: Welcome to November! No incidents in/from West Seattle right now.
7:12 AM: After yet another rainy night, watch out for standing water – as of early this morning, Chuck and Justin e-mailed us to say, the Delridge ramp to the eastbound West Seattle Bridge was flooded, again.
10:25 AM: Crash on the northbound Viaduct is going to be trouble for a while. We’ll have a separate report up shortly.
5:37 PM: A crash has Roxbury blocked at 8th SW. We’re on our way to find out more.
5:51 PM: Photo added. Deputies at the scene aren’t commenting except to say that one person has been taken to the hospital. Their major crash-investigation unit is responding, so Roxbury is likely to be blocked here for a few hours. Some southbound traffic on 8th SW is getting through, though, our crew says.
6:01 PM: Sgt. Cindi West from KCSO confirms that this is a crash involving a deputy hitting a pedestrian. The pedestrian – male, adult – has been taken to Harborview but Sgt. West says his injuries are not believed to be serious; the transport is precautionary, and the crash investigators are coming to the scene because of the deputy involvement. Also, a traffic update from our crew: Westbound traffic on Roxbury is being diverted; the outside eastbound lane is open.
9:27 PM: We weren’t able to go back to check until now, but we’ve confirmed the intersection is completely clear.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Sgt. West says the 65-year-old man who was hit was released from the hospital last night. Here’s how KCSO says it happened: “The deputy was northbound on 8 Ave SW and was stopped at the red light at Roxbury. When the light turned green he waited for traffic to clear so he could make a left turn to go westbound on Roxbury. The pedestrian was in the cross walk on the west side of the intersection crossing from south to north. The man had just reached the first westbound lane when he was hit by the bumper of the police vehicle making the left turn. The northbound light was green and the status of the pedestrian crossing light is unknown.”
She says the deputy was in an unmarked SUV, estimated to have been going 10 mph or less when he hit the pedestrian.
A gas-leak incident that’s been going on in the stadium zone for a few hours now may continue through the commute-home period – so if you usually take southbound 4th Avenue South, find an alternate route.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:57 AM: No current incidents in/from West Seattle.
One transit note for today – the West Seattle Water Taxi is now on its fall/winter schedule, which is weekdays only, am and pm commute periods only.
7:11 AM: Crash on I-5 northbound near Olive Way downtown is blocking two lanes and that might lead to some trouble before long if you’re headed that way.
7:18 AM: Thanks to Jim for the tip about a crash on 28th SW south of Roxbury: “28th SW is blocked South of the Safeway on Roxbury at about 99th. Cars are squeezing through 1 at a time. Avoid 28th Ave SW between 106th and Roxbury (limited cross streets here).” King County Sheriff’s Deputies and North Highline FD are there.
7:28 AM: WSDOT says the northbound I-5 crash downtown has cleared. Meantime, if you didn’t deduce it from the traffic cameras, yes, it’s raining.
8:02 AM: Reader report of a crash on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge just before the 99 exit. No SFD dispatch so no injuries, but be careful.
8:11 AM: Update on this from Gabriel: “Small fender-bender eastbound left lane before 1st Avenue exit. Large backup.”
8:25 AM: SDOT reports a crash at 2nd SW/Olson.
9:09 AM: Finally got a chance to go look at 28th and Olson lications to confirm they’re clear; they are.
4:09 PM: Thanks for the tips. Another traffic incident – this time at 35th and Barton. Texters say a bicyclist is hurt. A reader photo (above) shows the incident on the southeast corner. We’re on the way to check.
4:24 PM: Medical discussion monitored via scanner indicates the bicycle rider, hit by a driver, is a 40-year-old man with leg and shoulder injuries. SFD tells our crew at the scene the injuries are not life-threatening. He’s being taken to Harborview Medical Center. No one in the car was hurt.
12:58 PM: The response to an incident toward the west end of the West Seattle Bridge has just upgraded to “heavy rescue.” Texters are telling us a vehicle apparently went through the railing and onto Manning. So avoid the westbound bridge after Delridge, and avoid Harbor/Avalon/Manning on the surface.
1:12 PM: We’ve just arrived in the area. The Harbor/Avalon intersection is not affected – it’s the stub of Manning under the bridge. Firefighters tell us the driver is not hurt.
1:18 PM: Photo added. It’s a 4 x 4 pickup, our photographer reports. (added) Seattle Fire’s technical rescuers are trying to strategize how the vehicle can be removed.
1:27 PM: Above, photo tweeted by SFD showing their rescuers on the scene. They describe the drop as about 20′. Meanwhile, SDOT is up on the bridge:
Not sure how this is affecting the Fauntleroy end of the westbound bridge right now but we’re headed over to look.
Bridge is fully open; red tape strung where truck took out railing pic.twitter.com/82g96X4ftp
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 29, 2016
3:01 PM: We went by the scene again a short time ago, status quo, truck still perpendicular. But we’ve since received this photo showing the tow truck working on pulling it out:
And thanks again to everyone for all the tips/updates.
10:49 AM: Two problems on Delridge Way right now:
A truck hit a utility pole at Hudson – thanks to Michelle for the photo above – and there’s another crash response at Oregon. We are headed out to check on both.
11:02 AM: Just passed the Hudson/Delridge scene. City Light and SPD are there. The southbound lane is blocked but traffic is getting through both ways.
11:04 AM: And a minute later, we passed the Oregon/Delridge scene. No traffic lanes blocked here – looks like three damaged cars on the southbound shoulder. Police are there.
11:17 AM: Headed back the other way, the southbound lane is now blocked at the Oregon/Delridge crash, so the center lane is being utilized there too. We talked with police, who confirmed that no one was hurt. Photo added.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:02 AM: Good morning! No traffic effects reported from the South Transfer Station fire (which apparently is to blame for the smoky smell in West Seattle) but we’ll be going over to check soon.
Alerts for this weekend:
SOUTHBOUND 99 SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN, DETOUR STARTS TONIGHT: Because of railroad-track work at East Marginal/South Diagonal, if you are on SB 99 between 7 pm tonight and 5 am Monday, you will be detoured onto 1st Avenue S. at Atlantic. To get on the westbound West Seattle Bridge from there, you’ll have to continue to the 1st Avenue onramp. The full explanation is here, from SDOT.
Special-event reminders (from the WSB West Seattle Halloween [etc.] Guide):
ADMIRAL TRICK-OR-TREATING TODAY: Take extra care in The Admiral District 3-6 pm today, when hundreds of kids and their families will be trick-or-treating in the business district.
JUNCTION HARVEST FESTIVAL SUNDAY: 10 am-2 pm Sunday, the usual street closures expand for this year’s Harvest Festival – California between Edmunds and Oregon, Alaska between 42nd and 44th. That means a reroute for Metro Route 128.
7:37 PM: Crash reported at Delridge and Thistle.
8:02 AM: Now there’s trouble on the bridge, tweets SDOT:
A stall is blocking the center lane on the EB West Seattle Bridge. Use caution and expect delays. pic.twitter.com/mwoZBNkz2C
— seattledot (@seattledot) October 28, 2016
8:25 PM: The bridge stall has cleared, SDOT says. So has the Delridge crash scene.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:03 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle right now. Though the rain finally stopped, you might still find some standing water, such as “under the Delridge onramp” per a text we just received.
Alerts for tonight:
SOUNDERS FC MATCH & EXTENDED WATER TAXI SERVICE: As announced earlier this week, the West Seattle Water Taxi will be on an extended schedule this evening for the Sounders FC playoff match (7 pm at CenturyLink vs. Sporting KC).
FERRY MEETING: 5-6:30 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), Washington State Ferries continues its weeklong series of meetings to listen to concerns about the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route. (Added midmorning) Format: The meeting will start with Assistant Transportation Secretary Lynne Griffith, who leads WSF, speaking for several minutes “recognizing the issues on the route and the need for public input,” and then, WSF tells us, “The following hour will be open house-format listening sessions. During this time, members of our executive team will host three listening stations, where attendees can post ideas, concerns, and questions on maps of each terminal. These notes are what we will collect, assemble, and report back, from the meetings. We’ll close out the meeting with a group Q&A so folks can ask questions or share insights about what they’ve heard from neighbors.”
WEST SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION COALITION: 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way), WSTC’s agenda includes the city’s Drive Clean and Electric Vehicle initiatives, as well as the plan to remove two Junction bus shelters, the city budget, and the newest SODO arena proposal.
Special-event reminders (from the WSB West Seattle Halloween [etc.] Guide):
ADMIRAL TRICK-OR-TREATING FRIDAY: Take extra care in The Admiral District 3-6 pm tomorrow, when hundreds of kids and their families will be trick-or-treating in the business district.
JUNCTION HARVEST FESTIVAL SUNDAY: 10 am-2 pm Sunday, the usual street closures expand for this year’s Harvest Festival – California between Edmunds and Oregon, Alaska between 42nd and 44th.
7:48 AM: Just got word of a crash at 35th/Juneau. Car/motorcycle. We are approaching – looks like it’s on the southbound side, blocking outside lane.
8:08 AM: We have published a separate story about the crash and are now on the way to check out the water under the Delridge intersection.
8:25 AM: That appears to be clear now.
8:43 AM: Downtown note – we’ve received Metro alerts about delays downtown because of a crash at 3rd and James (all we know is that it was a “heavy rescue” call). Also, Juneau has reopened west of 35th – we went by that crash scene again on the way back to HQ; the minivan had not yet been towed.
11:08 PM: Thanks for the photo and the tips – Fauntleroy and Raymond [map] is one of the spots that has flooded worse than usual during tonight’s deluge. (We’ve already advised one person who called about it to report it to Seattle Public Utilities, whose 24-hour dispatch is 206-386-1800.) We’re also hearing about deep water at spots including Harbor/Spokane. So if you’re headed out any time soon, be extra careful, and if you see what looks like a totally flooded roadway ahead, you’re advised not to drive/ride through it.
\11:30 PM: And just five minutes after we published that, the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for areas including Seattle, until 2:15 am. Meantime, Darlene mentions in comments that the Delridge ramp to the bridge is swamped too.
12:15 AM: Michelle reported in comments that her husband and neighbors cleared the Fauntleroy/Raymond drains, and she sent a photo:
Meantime, another “standing water” report on the scanner – 9200 block of 35th SW.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:59 AM: Good morning! The rain’s back. No incidents reported right now in/from West Seattle.
Reminders/notes:
SCHOOL’S OUT EARLY: 2-hour early dismissal for Seattle Public Schools today.
FERRY MEETING TOMORROW: If you use the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route, your chance to talk with Washington State Ferries about problems/solutions is 5-6:30 pm Thursday at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW).
WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI: This is the last week of 7-day operation – the weekday-only schedule starts Monday (Halloween). Meanwhile, the WSWT will be on an extended schedule Thursday night because of the Sounders FC playoff match.
NEW METRO BOSS: Rob Gannon, who has been interim general manager of Metro Transit since March, is now its official GM.
HARVEST FESTIVAL ON SUNDAY: The Junction’s Sunday road-closure pattern will be expanded on Sunday (October 30th) because of the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, 10 am-2 pm – closer to the Summer Fest footprint, with California closed to motorized-vehicle traffic between Edmunds and Oregon, and SW Alaska closed between 44th and 42nd. Look for an updated preview later today.
7:17 AM: SDOT’s traffic center reports a crash at Myers Way and 1st Ave. S., at the east end of the Roxbury corridor.
7:35 AM: Texter reports a fenderbender on the EB high bridge. No SFD dispatch.
8 AM: SDOT says it’s a stall in the center lane.
8:20 AM: Bridge incident is clear.
8:30 AM: Crash blocking right lane in NB Battery St Tunnel.
8:39 AM: And SDOT says that has cleared.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:06 AM: So far, no incidents in/from West Seattle. Transportation-related notes:
JUNCTION BUS SHELTERS UPDATE: Here’s our followup about the plan to remove two shelters at the west end of the south side of SW Alaska near 44th SW.
EARLY DISMISSAL TOMORROW: Seattle Public Schools are out two hours early on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES MEETING THURSDAY: 5-6:30 pm Thursday at The Hall at Fauntleroy (in the historic schoolhouse at 9131 California SW), WSF plans a meeting to listen to concerns about the “triangle” route.
NEARBY TRAFFIC ALERT THIS WEEKEND: Friday night through Monday morning, East Marginal Way S. will be closed at Diagonal Ave. S. for railroad-track replacement. This means detours – all detailed here.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:20 AM: The fire call at 12th/Cloverdale in Highland Park is wrapping up, so we’re moving on with today’s traffic coverage.
Notes for this week include:
JUNCTION BUS SHELTERS: If you’ve seen the notices on the south side of SW Alaska near 44th, here’s what they’re about. Watch for our followup later today.
EARLY DISMISSAL WEDNESDAY: Seattle Public Schools get out two hours early on Wednesday (October 26th).
WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES MEETING THURSDAY: 5-6:30 pm Thursday (October 27th) at The Hall at Fauntleroy (in the historic schoolhouse at 9131 California SW), WSF comes to Fauntleroy to talk with you, open-house-style, about the latest round of traffic challenges related to the terminal.
ADMIRAL TRICK-OR-TREAT FRIDAY: The sidewalks and crosswalks in The Admiral District will be extra-busy 3-6 pm Friday (October 28th) for the annual business trick-or-treating event.
7:55 AM: Just spun through the live cameras; the low bridge is moving a little slower than the high bridge, but otherwise, no incidents.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:18 AM: No incidents in/from West Seattle right now.
For this weekend, the Spokane St. work postponed because of last weekend’s weather concerns has been rescheduled – according to the SDOT Construction Lookahead, that means starting at 7 pm tonight:
SW Spokane St. will be closed between E. Marginal Way S. and 11th Ave. SW while crews remove abandoned railroad track and repave the roadway. The westbound off-ramps from the West Seattle Bridge to Harbor Island will also be closed.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:02 AM: Good morning. No incidents reported in or from West Seattle so far, but it’s a rainy morning following a rainy night, so please watch out for puddling (or worse) in some of the usual spots. (Via Twitter, Meg mentions Fauntleroy/Raymond.)
7:26 AM: If you’re at or near 35th/Avalon, you might be noticing multiple fire units on the west side of 35th. It’s an “automatic fire alarm” call at 4435 35th SW (Aura).
8 AM: Thanks for the tips. Emergency response at 47th and Genesee, possibly involving a bicycle rider. We are on our way to find out more.
8:25 AM: We’re at the scene. Westbound Genesee is closed at 46th. Eastbound is open. We’ll be writing about the incident separately shortly. (Here’s the link.)
8:38 AM: Police say Genesee will reopen shortly.
8:45 AM: If you haven’t headed out yet – it’s now raining very hard, so be ready to travel slowly to stay safe.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:06 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far.
7:44 AM: Still nothing out of the ordinary. The low bridge has been closed to surface traffic for about 10 minutes – remember we have a link atop traffic coverage every weekday morning that you can use to check its status (@SDOTbridges tweets when it closes & when it reopens). @KevinFreitas just tweeted this photo from the bicycle queue awaiting its reopening:
7:47 AM: Back open to non-marine traffic.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:58 AM: Good morning. Trouble on northbound Highway 99 right now – SDOT reports “a disabled semitruck blocking the bus lane” near Royal Brougham.
7:10 AM: SDOT just tweeted that the stalled truck has been cleared. Meantime, its “low bridge” camera is malfunctioning this morning – stuck on a view from yesterday – so we’ve had to replace it in our field of four featured cameras above – instead, you’ll see the camera showing the intersection with the west end of the low bridge.
7:15 AM: What’s on the 911 log as a medical call at West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way is blocking a lane of the latter, according to a texter. No cameras in that area so we are heading that way to check it out.
7:39 AM Scene is clear.
8:12 AM SDOT reports a crash at 35th/Kenyon. No SFD callout.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:02 AM: Good morning! No incidents reported right now in/from West Seattle.
7:30 AM: Just spun through the live video feeds from the city map – all WS views look OK.
As for road-work alerts – the city called off the Harbor Island closures for the Spokane Street repaving project last weekend because of weather concerns, so we’re waiting to hear where that stands this week. Admiral Way striping west of California still has some work to be done, particularly at the Alki end of the project zone. If you see any other road work of note, please let us know, when you can, since it’s not all pre-announced … 206-293-6302 text or voice, editor@westseattleblog.com e-mail – thank you!
5:55 PM: Continuing our ongoing storm coverage into the evening (see our afternoon coverage here) – first, thanks for the tips about this tree-caused blockage:
That’s Nick‘s photo of tree(s) down on 48th SW between Seaview and Lowman Beach. (If you are in the area, please let us know if/when you see it reopen – we might not be able to get down that way for a while.)
More tree trouble – from Charlie, at 33rd SW and SW Spokane in East Admiral:
Charlie says, “A large tree snapped at about 4pm at the corner of 33rd Ave SW and SW Spokane St, right at the corner of the new development going on. Likely because they’ve cut down all the other trees which protected it in prior storms. The tree is now hanging on the power lines (which is the only thing keeping it up). I’ve already called both SCL and SDOT (since when it falls it will block the roadway). A lot of people tend to shortcut through this neighborhood – please don’t – the tree could fall at any moment and land on a car or pedestrian.” (This is the same site shown in our morning traffic/weather coverage because of muddy runoff.)
And near 46th SW and SW Charlestown, MT reports this:
“Homeowner stated he was home at around 2 pm. When branch broke, bounced off his roof. Big fear is tomorrow more of the tree will come down on his home.”
No photo, but while traveling northbound on Delridge a couple hours ago, we noticed a tree down outside a house just north of Pearls.
POWER OUTAGES: Seattle City Light’s map still shows almost 3,000 homes/businesses without power, down a third from the original number who lost it. As reported in our afternoon coverage, the west side of California SW is out in The Junction, so some businesses are closed; the east side remained on. And we’re told the signal at California/Alaska is now functioning.If you want to check the current status of outages around West Seattle and the rest of the city “live,” City Light shared this version of their map with us – zoom in to get close, and grab the map with your cursor to move around:
6:09 PM UPDATE: Multiple tweets say power’s back in The Junction. Waiting for the SCL map to reflect it. Some businesses might just stay closed for the night on the west side, though (Junction TrueValue, for example, told us that was their plan), so if you’re heading out, be ready to improvise.
6:19 PM UPDATE – THE FORECAST: Before we get to more photos (thank you to everyone sharing photos and video!), here’s where the forecast stands. A High Wind Warning remains in effect for 3 pm Saturday to 2 am Sunday. Excerpt:
* TIMING…GUSTY SOUTH WINDS THIS AFTERNOON WILL EASE THIS EVENING. A PERIOD OF STRONGER WINDS IS EXPECTED LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS SUNDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL LIKELY BE DURING THE EVENING.
* WINDS…SOUTH WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH WILL EASE THIS EVENING. SOUTH WINDS 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH ARE LIKELY LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.
7:23 PM UPDATE: Looks like West Seattle is down to a few scattered outages affecting ~120 customers. We are now at SW Athletic Complex in Westwood for the Chief Sealth-WSHS football game and the weather has calmed – a little showery, a little breezy, nothing at all like this afternoon. The almost-full moon is even starting to peek from behind clouds in the eastern sky.
7:37 PM: Adding some contributed imagery from a bit earlier. First, Jamie Kinney tweeted this video of pre-dusk storminess:
Here comes the storm front! @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/9mwyGC6vQs
— Jamie Kinney (@jamiekinney) October 15, 2016
7:43 PM: 48th SW is reported to be open again. Meantime, thanks to Jen Lee for the photo from Constellation Park during this afternoon’s confluence of big wind and high tide:
One more time – if you’re on the shore or preparing to be, be aware of the full-moon high tides ahead as more high wind heads this way – the times and numbers are here.
ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: One more toppled tree we almost missed in the mailbox – thanks to Rod Moody for this pic from 47th/Brandon:
With saturated ground and potentially higher gusts, we could see more of this later today. Forested parks are a good place to avoid until the weather calms.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:43 AM: The weather didn’t cause much trouble overnight (here are our notes). But the rain has resumed and it’s going to be a messy commute. First evidence, Meg just tweeted: “The onramp to the bridge from Avalon (EB) is FULL of water. Bus had to slow way down. Yikes!”
As we’ve been mentioning all week, no classes today for Seattle Public Schools – a long-planned staff-development day – so that will lessen traffic somewhat.
7:43 AM: The only problems we keep hearing about: Water, water, water. We’ll be heading out shortly now that there’s some daylight.
8:30 AM: So far, we’ve been down Fauntleroy, Avalon, Harbor, Alki. Not much traffic, and a break in the rain seems to have helped with the drainage. It just started up again, though, and there’s no shortage of storminess to the west:
Looking NW from Duwamish Head. pic.twitter.com/ErcanfkSyH
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 14, 2016
9:06 AM: While out, we also looked into the muddy runoff coming downhill on Manning toward the Admiral/Avalon/etc. intersection. It’s from the site recently cleared for the 14-house 3601 Fauntleroy Avenue subdivision:
Seattle Public Utilities was on site when we went by. Drainage was one of the concerns neighbors of this site raised in an appeal that was settled before going to a hearing.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7 AM: Good morning. The rain continues, and the National Weather Service says the first round of wind is on the way, with a High Wind Warning from 6 pm tonight to 7 am Friday.
If you are heading TOWARD West Seattle right now or soon, be forewarned that a crash has closed the southbound Battery Street Tunnel.
7:40 AM: That crash has cleared. Nothing else reported on nearby routes except general slowness. Meantime, forecasters say that while the wind warning starts at 6 pm in our area, the worst isn’t expected until late tonight. We will be on storm watch through the night and into early Friday. (Another reminder that school’s out tomorrow – long-scheduled day of no classes for Seattle Public Schools.)
7:48 AM: Texter warns of especially slow traffic on Admiral Way getting to the bridge.
7:55 AM: Could be related to that:
Mass bus lane violations at bottom of SW Avalon! Bus has to go around! Random enforcement plz @SeattlePD!
cc @westseattleblog @kcmetrobus
— Kevin Freitas (@kevinfreitas) October 13, 2016
8:11 AM: Texter (reach us at 206-293-6302 any time) says the light on Cloverdale at Highway 509 is out, and that’s causing some backup on the 1st-to-Olson-to-Roxbury hill.
8:28 AM: Iggy reports in comments that the Route 22 bus has lost a tire, south of Morgan Junction, and is awaiting Metro maintenance. Until and unless a replacement has been brought in, could mean delays for people waiting to ride elsewhere on the route.
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