(Mount Rainier in this morning’s sunrise, photographed by Chris Frankovich)

Midweek highlights, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

FAMILY STORY TIME: No school for Seattle Public Schools today – so bring everybody to Southwest Library for this story time, 10:30 am. (9010 35th SW)

PRESCHOOLER STORY TIME: 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. (2306 42nd SW)

BABY STORY TIME: And this morning’s trifecta of story times ends with 11:30 am Baby Story Time at High Point Library. (3411 SW Raymond)

LIGHT RAIL: The Stakeholder Advisory Group working on Sound Transit‘s West Seattle/Ballard light-rail extension meets at 5 pm in ST’s board room downtown. No public-comment period, but the meeting is open for all to observe. (401 S. Jackson)

FREE GROUP RUN: Get out and run with West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) – meet at the shop at 6:15 pm. (2743 California SW)

OPEN MIC: The Skylark takes signups at 7:30 pm, with performances starting at 8:30 pm – details in our calendar listing. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

THE WHOPPERJOHNS: Live at Parliament Tavern, starting at 9 pm. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

GOT SOMETHING FOR THE CALENDAR: Email is the way to send it – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thanks!

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:56 AM: Good morning! No school for Seattle Public Schools today, so traffic should be a bit lighter as a result.

6:10 AM: No major incidents or alerts, around the region as well as in our area, so far this morning.

6:36 AM: Still incident-free.

6;54 AM: Busy but still nothing out of the (current) ordinary.

7:13 AM: Slow on the bridge.

7:30 AM: Scanner – police are being dispatched to a reported driver/pedestrian collision at California/Findlay.

7:35 AM: The woman who was hit is not seriously injured, per first police on the scene. (And thanks to the person who just called to be sure we knew about this.)

7:40 AM: The incident was on the southbound side. We say “was” because the scene has now cleared. … Chilly morning and if you have a car parked on the street, you might have some scraping to do, we’re noting from our view of the street.

8:07 AM: Sorry we missed noting a low-bridge opening (remember that the temporary 7-10 am restrictions only apply to vessels below 5,000 gross tons), which is logged as having swung open for maritime traffic 7:32-7:50 am.

8:24 AM: Just in from Joseph, a photo of the bicyclist lineup on the low bridge just before that maritime opening ended:

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! No alerts or incidents so far this Tuesday morning.

5:57 AM: Still quiet.

6:28 AM Still incident-free.

6:57 AM: All remains well.

7:26 AM: Reminder that tomorrow is likely to be lighter because Seattle Public Schools have no classes – it’s the “day between semesters.” Today has followed recent patterns; the bridge is now in full slowdown mode.

7:55 AM: From Marc via Twitter, “Too many bikes for the bike racks on the 7:25 water taxi this morning! Nice full boat! Hurrah for alternative commute options!” Bike parking has been added at Seacrest, as we’ve noted along the way, including a permanent “corral” between the lot entrance and exit.

8:05 AM: Sun’s out. Later this morning we’ll be at the next media briefing on how the #Realign99 work is going, with a look at the progress on the new NB 99 exit ramp that will take you downtown if you’re not using the tunnel.

8:29 AM: Brush-fire call under the NB I-5/Columbian Way/West Seattle Bridge interchange.

8:38 AM: Firefighters arriving in the area have clarified that it’s more like a fire near a retaining wall at I-5/Forest. … Looking ahead to Saturday, we just added more information to last night’s report about the special Saturday Water Taxi for viaduct/tunnel celebration day – no 773/775 shuttles that day.

8:57 AM: Also from the scanner, broken-down, “blocking” vehicle reported on the westbound bridge near 99.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! No incidents or alerts so far this last Monday of January.

5:35 AM: If you’re waiting for the C Line, you might have a bit of a delay. Per radio communication, a bus is stopped at California/Fauntleroy awaiting police to assist with an “intoxicated male” who is refusing to disembark.

5:41 AM: Situation resolved before police arrived.

6 AM: Bridge getting busy but flowing relatively well.

6:13 AM: Still incident-free. Even regionally, fairly quiet. Check these three West Seattle road-work notes if you haven’t already.

6:20 AM: East Marginal Way and Alaska (map), 2-car crash, with SFD medics en route.

6:30 AM: That’s cleared. Meantime, it’s bridge-slowdown time.

6:55 AM: Still nothing unusual; the high bridge is the only West Seattle arterial mapping in yellow or red right now.

7:10 AM: If you’re heading for I-5 NB into downtown, note there’s a lane blocked by a stalled van in the Seneca/Yesler vicinity.

7:15 AM: That’s cleared. New problem – south of the bridge, crash reported at 4th Ave. S./Dawson (map).

7:28 AM: For those reporting trouble with Ride2, Metro just tweeted this:

7:51 AM: Bridge full. Sun’s out.

8:10 AM: Low bridge might not be the best way to go right now – SDOT has turned the camera eastward from the east end of the bridge and it’s looking sluggish.

8:30 AM: Still looking reasonable out there.

8:46 AM: Thanks to the reader who reported this on the east side of the challenging-even-without-road-work Holden/Highland Park Way intersection, photo included:

8:58 AM: Headed out to start covering the day’s news. If you see/hear something big, our 24/7 hotline is 206-293-6302 (when you can call/text safely/legally – after you get where you’re going, if you’re not a passenger – thanks!).

With sunny weather forecast for Monday, here are three projects – not related to #Realign99 (we’ll have a preview later for Week 3 of that!) – that you should know about:

8TH SW: Thanks to the reader who forwarded this notice for 8th SW between Roxbury and Cambridge [map]:

SW JUNEAU: As announced by SDOT at week’s end, curb-ramp work at 35th and Juneau will start “as soon as” tomorrow, with Juneau to be closed between 35th and 36th [map].

SW GENESEE: Also from the “as soon as (tomorrow)” file, as reported here last week, the eastbound lane of SW Genesee between 26th and 30th [map] will be closed for Sound Transit light-rail-research soil sampling.

WSB reader photo

2:28 PM: You’re going to want to avoid I-5 in the West Seattle Bridge vicinity for a while. There’s a big vehicle fire. The bridge exit to NB I-5 is closed. One texter says it’s a “tour bus.” More to come.

2:37 PM: Added a reader photo. SB I-5 is getting by but avoiding the area in its entirety remains your best bet.

2:55 PM: Per scanner, fire is “tapped” (out) and SFD is working to make it possible for a NB I-5 lane to be opened “as soon as possible.” No reports of injuries.

3:10 PM: One lane of NB I-5 is now open.

3:33 PM: Readers report SODO surface streets are jammed as a result.

3:50 PM: 2 lanes are open now but the backup remains major.

4:14 PM: We’ll keep this going as a PM traffic update given the residual problems from the bus fire. Note for Water Taxi riders: Question on Twitter leads us to note that the Spirit of Kingston seems to be running in place of Doc Maynard right now. We’re checking to see if that’s a TFN thing.

5:28 PM: I-5 update:

5:55 PM: All lanes now open again.

6:06 PM: If you’re headed up via the south, note there’s a crash at Highland Park Way/Holden (thanks, MrsL).

6:12 PM: Metro says the Route 57 scheduled to head back this way about 15 minutes ago didn’t run.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! No incidents or alerts in our area so far.

5:45 AM: As previewed last night, this morning brings a “pop-up” edition of Bike Everywhere Day, including a “station” under the West Seattle Bridge, 6:30-9 am. … Weather’s dry this morning and looking that way for much of the final week ahead of Highway 99-less-ness.

6 AM: Things are picking up but still no incidents.

6:03 AM: Surface Spokane train alert:

6:13 AM: Train’s clear, per SDOT.

6:32 AM: High bridge is officially in morning-backup mode. And there’s a bit of trouble on NB I-5 north of the West Seattle Bridge, disabled vehicle blocking part of a lane by Dearborn.

6:55 AM: Courtesy of Seattle Council staff, the mentioned-earlier bicycle station under the bridge:

Among those expected to stop before morning’s end, Councilmember Lorena González, riding from her home in The Junction.

7:02 AM: Late bus alert for the south end, just sent by Metro: “Route 113 to Seattle due to leave Shorewood at 6:59 AM will operate more than 30 minutes late this morning.”

7:36 AM: Busy but quiet.

7:55 AM: City-provided photo from Councilmember González’s stop at the WSBC-and-friends station under the bridge:

Bikes crossing the low bridge are counted here. (Added: Here’s a pic tweeted by González, showing the counter.)

8:01 AM: Aside from the high bridge, no West Seattle arterials in red (jam mode) on the city map right now. Just off the peninsula, 1st Ave. S. shows slower than 4th.

8:09 AM: Texter reports (THANK YOU!) that the low bridge was just open for a few minutes – but it’s not showing on Twitter (though this webcam framegrab verifies), so we’re asking SDOT if there’s a problem.

8:29 AM: Crash on the NB 1st Avenue S. Bridge, blocking one lane.

8:45 AM: That incident has cleared.

9:16 AM: Train blockage on lower Spokane Street per SDOT: “… blocked with a stopped train between E Marginal Way and 1st Ave S.”

7:05 PM: Thanks for the tip. A crash on the eastbound bridge, by the 1st Avenue exit, is blocking two lanes. If you have to head that way – wait a while!

7:27 PM: All clear, says SDOT.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! Traffic watch is on for your Thursday.

5:36 AM: WSDOT reports a crash blocking the two left lanes on the NB First Avenue S. Bridge.

5:46 AM: This is about when the high bridge starts to get busy. Note it’s another wet morning.

6:02 AM: Tow and Incident Response are at the 1st Ave. S. Bridge scene – but now there’s an SFD medical callout, so that scene isn’t going to clear immediately.

6:25 AM: The first 1st Ave. S. Bridge scene is clear – the second one, further south, has not.

6:29 AM: A texter says this is backing this up all the way to Roxbury.

6:50 AM: Checking out the (high) West Seattle Bridge, as has been the case by this point in the morning, it’s filling up.

7:09 AM: Via RBWS, in comments: “2 car accident on Fauntleroy expressway in right lane before the Nucor plant. Drivers are standing around talking. Starting to back up toward 35th.”

7:19 AM: SDOT says that cleared quickly.

7:29 AM: The Fauntleroy curve is now backed up. Meantime, a South Park alert – in case you’re going that way to get around residual 509 backups – crash reported at 14th Ave. S./S. Henderson.

7:44 AM: Travel speeds via the city map show Delridge is particularly slow going right now just north of Genesee.

8:04 AM: Brenda tweeted, “On Upper bridge just saw unmarked police car pull into bus lane and put on his lights. All the bus lane violators immediately merged into lanes. No tickets but effective.”

8:17 AM: No new issues. Two notes for today:
-Our daily progress-report media briefing is back to a late-morning conference call, if anyone has questions.
-Tonight, King County Executive Dow Constantine is the scheduled guest at the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s monthly meeting, talking transit and more. All welcome. 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House High Point (6400 Sylvan Way).

8:42 AM: New trouble on the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge – one lane blocked.

8:55 AM: WSDOT says that’s now clear.

9:22 AM: Still watching for incidents, but otherwise it’s off to the rest of the day’s news. If you see something, our 24/7 hotline is 206-293-6302 – text or voice – when you can use your phone safely/legally (after you get to where you’re going, if you’re not a passenger) – thanks!

10:31 AM: SFD response for a natural-gas leak at 14th/Roxbury. Not sure how/if it’s affecting traffic, but heads up.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! Nothing major so far.

BUS LANE ENFORCEMENT TODAY: We brought this issue up during Tuesday’s media conference call with transportation/transit agencies. SDOT’s Dawn Schellenberg later told us, “We checked in with SPD and they confirmed [today] an officer will be posted at the beginning of the 4th Ave/Spokane off-ramp where it begins to loop off of mainline, and also one down the loop ramp approximately midway to prevent reentries into the bus lane.”

5:42 AM: Early train activity – SDOT and Metro have both tweeted alerts about East Marginal/Spokane.

5:53 AM: Camera still shows that blockage, so if you’re eastbound, we’d advise high bridge if possible rather than surface.

6:15 AM: High bridge is starting to fill up.

6:27 AM: Train has finally cleared on lower Spokane Street.

6:36 AM: Trouble on NB I-5 just north of the West Seattle Bridge, by I-90. One lane blocked. Meantime, after a rainy night, it’s just misting right now.

6:49 AM: I-5 problem is cleared. Spokane Street cam shows the train arm down again – so if you are planning to take lower Spokane, be forewarned, busy morning at the railroad crossings.

7:09 AM: No new problems – just busy. Meantime, the Tacoma crash mentioned by AdmiralDon in comments has just cleared, if you have to head that far.

7:27 AM: Thanks for the commute reports in comments! Monitoring regional traffic watch, “better than yesterday” seems to be a common sentiment … so far. … AbBr tweeted about a stall just past the Fauntleroy entrance to the high bridge. Haven’t seen it on a camera but – heads-up in case it hasn’t cleared yet.

7:45 AM: LOW BRIDGE ALERT – it’s closed to surface traffic as of a minute ago. Also, another mention of a stalled/pulled-over vehicle on the eastbound high bridge.

8:02 AM: Low bridge has reopened.

8:05 AM: If you’re Beacon Hill-bound at the east end of the bridge, SDOT reports a Columbian Way/Spokane blocking situation. … If you’re noticing the SFD response headed for South Park, there’s a medical emergency (not a fire) aboard a barge along S. Riverside.

8:30 AM: The Incident Response Team has arrived to deal with the stall. Also – the rain has intensified. Bridge still packed both ways.

8:50 AM: No change as top of the hour approaches. … Today’s progress report will be focused on an afternoon media briefing about how transit’s going, so if you have questions on that front (Metro/Water Taxi/Ride2 in particular), please let us know!

9:39 AM: Belated report as we just had to cross the bridge ourselves. Bus and car pulled over just at the merge point. Looked like collision aftermath. SPD was there. Also noted them in the 4th exit ramp bus lane. Now heading back to WS!

10:51 AM: Back from downtown errands; took a surface route back and experienced some of the things we’ve written about, such as traffic revisions at certain intersections – no right turn allowed on Dearborn from 5th to get to 4th, so we had to head to 6th, where right turns to Royal Brougham were prohibited. Finally got back to 4th from Spokane (no left from westbound, so we had to deploy the “u-turn route,” just short of a train track that was in use). 4th was clear from Spokane to Michigan to the 1st Ave. S. Bridge to Highland Park Way. (By the way, here’s that bus-involved crash we mentioned last hour.)

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! Welcome to the first non-holiday commute of the second post-Viaduct week. Traffic/transportation authorities hope those whose changes made last week a success keep it up this week. No trouble reported in our area so far.

5:40 AM: The high bridge is busy but flowing.

6 AM: East end of the eastbound high bridge – the backup to I-5 has begun (screengrab here for the record). WSDOT notes that northbound I-5 is busier all the way from south King County.

6:15 AM: Commuting via the West Seattle Water Taxi? Runs to downtown start now. The expanded (two-boat) schedule continues all the way until the spring/summer schedule change at the end of March.

6:24 AM: And now the traffic extends to the midspan (screengrab).

6:38 AM: Seems busier all around. Check out the headlights looking south onto NB 35th SW from Fauntleroy. LOW BRIDGE ALERT: Closed to surface traffic as of a couple minutes ago.

6:50 AM: Low bridge has just reopened, verified by tweet and video camera. Noticed via the latter, a steady stream of bicycles headed east immediately.

6:57 AM: Continuing our moment-in-time screengrabs, here’s the backup on the Fauntleroy-end curve (this camera was down for a long time, until last week).

7:02 AM: Surface-traffic alert from SDOT, first one of this kind that we’ve seen post-Viaduct:

7:11 AM: Commenters report Admiral and Delridge are backed up. Also got a text from Al that, to be specific, Admiral’s backed up the hill to 37th.

7:22 AM: Consensus seems to be that this is the day some people started going back to old routines. Regional transportation/transit agencies are resuming the daily media conference calls so we’ll see what the take is then. Meantime, plenty of commute to get through.

7:31 AM: Getting to Delridge – tough too. Amy tweets that the Andover approach is backed up to 28th SW. Meantime, that truck backup near the port is likely the reason for a surface Spokane backup east of the low bridge.

7:46 AM: Though we don’t have a crew at the Water Taxi dock this morning, we’re watching the boats via MarineTraffic.com and all appears to be well. Jennifer sent this photo, captioned “Beautiful morning commute!”

7:52 AM: Texter reports it took “one hour travel time from top of Admiral Way by viewpoint to the lower bridge.”

7:57 AM: Aid response (low-level medical) call to 4th and Spokane. Heard this mentioned on scanner as truck/bicycle collision. It’s not visible on the SDOT cam for that intersection.

8:05 AM: Still a bridge jam – here’s a screengrab from the Walking on Logs curve.

8:30 AM: Doesn’t look any better out there.

8:35 AM: Toward the east end of the Roxbury corridor, SDOT reports a “blocking vehicle at Olson/Cambridge.”

8:55 AM: Top of the hour nears and it’s still jammed on the bridge.

9:04 AM: 1st Avenue South Bridge closed to surface traffic at the top of the hour. (added) Back open at 9:08.

9:21 AM: Thanks for all the firsthand reports in comments and via Twitter! (And text/voice if you can call safely and legally – as a passenger or after you get to where you’re going – 206-293-6302.)

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! Schools and most government facilities are closed; Metro‘s on reduced-weekday service; Sound Transit has some changes; both the West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxis ARE operating.

6 AM: Still relatively quiet, regionally too.

6:20 AM: No news is good news! Here’s the WSDOT wrap on week one of Viaduct-less commuting.

6:45 AM: West Seattle Bridge still flowing. I-5’s picked up.

7:06 AM: East end of the eastbound bridge has slowed but the westbound’s still well below usual.

7:30 AM: Forecast – mostly cloudy today, no rain expected until Tuesday morning.

8:05 AM: Still uneventful. Even the official SDOT description of West Seattle Bridge traffic is “light.”

8:30 AM: Watching the live-video bridge cams, it looks like a weekend out there. By the way, there’s another no-school day next week – Wednesday, January 30th, it’s the “day between semesters” for Seattle Public Schools.

8:55 AM: Wrapping up a quiet holiday commute. We’ll as always cover any breaking traffic news during the day/night, and will be back on AM watch at 5:30 Tuesday. Tips always appreciated at 206-293-6302 (our 24/7 hotline, text or voice) – thank you!

9:14 PM: Saturday night callout for one of SDOT’s Incident Response Team: They’re cleaning up after a crash at Harbor/Avalon/Spokane. This may block north-to-eastbound access to the bridge onramp (and lower Spokane) from Avalon for a while longer, so if you have to head out, consider another way. No serious injuries reported – SFD has cleared the scene and no medic unit was dispatched.

10:10 PM: Scene’s not clear yet, but the SDOT live cam shows traffic is now getting through onto eastbound lower Spokane and the bridge onramp.

10:19 PM: Clear now, reports SDOT.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! So far the problems are NOT in our area.

5:45 AM – LOOKING AHEAD: Reminders while things are quiet – Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. School’s out, and most government offices/facilities are closed. Metro plans “reduced weekday” service.

5:48 AM: SDOT reports “Rail crossing delays at 2nd Ave and S Spokane St, blocking all EB and WB lanes.” (This is the first such alert we’ve seen – following the Wednesday train trouble.)

6:11 AM: Monitoring police radio, there are various train-related problems including a track-crossing arm STUCK DOWN ON WESTBOUND SIDE of Spokane St. around 2nd. Needs repair. That won’t be soon. Also word of a train on tracks at 6th/Spokane. Overall, just avoid surface Spokane for now!

6:20 AM: Arm problem may be fixed but train traffic hasn’t passed. … Our crew is off to the Water Taxi dock to see how things are going there this Friday morning. Weather-wise, a lot like Thursday so far.

6:40 AM: Bridge is busy as has been the case every day this first post-Viaduct week. (Here’s the point-in-time screengrab.)

6:46 AM: Train traffic on lower Spokane has cleared again.

6:55 AM: And … another train. … At the Water Taxi dock, they tell us it’s been a “light morning,” at least compared to earlier in the week. 75 passengers on the most-recent sailing.

7:10 AM: 59 on the sailing after that. And YET MORE trouble on lower Spokane, this time at 11th/Spokane just off the low bridge a crash – we took this from the city webcam:

(Fully blocking there, as of a few minutes later.)

7:20 AM: We have clarified with King County – there IS Water Taxi service (West Seattle AND Vashon) on Monday even though King Day would otherwise be a holiday.

7:35 AM: The crash east of the low bridge is still blocking. … Water Taxi volume’s up a bit – 110 is the latest sailing’s count.

Again, there IS WT service on Monday.

7:50 AM: Still working to clear the crash east of the low bridge. SDOT’s Incident Response Team is there. Screengrab:

7:55 AM: SDOT tweets that “the westbound lane and one eastbound lane” have reopened there.

8:28 AM: Busy but no new problems. Later this morning, we’ll get a #Realign99 construction update in the south work zone. Also looking ahead – if you’re heading off-peninsula tomorrow, note that this year’s Womxn’s March will be happening (details in this city roundup).

8:55 AM: No new problems. We’re continuing to monitor and will update here if anything new does transpire before 10 am.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

4:09 PM: We’re watching the pm commute again.

4:21 PM: WSDOT reports heavy volumes on both directions of I-5 through the region. The West Seattle Bridge is still sluggish eastbound (that’s a most-of-the-day thing now).

4:39 PM: Some trouble for those headed back this way from the Eastside – WSDOT reports a crash partly blocking the westbound I-90 exit to SB I-5.

4:57 PM: It’s raining – this morning’s real rain was mostly pre-commute, but this time it’s happening right in the heart of the travel time. Be safe.

5:08 PM: SDOT reports a crash at 16th/Roxbury.

5:37 PM: In comments, Jen reports “Semi blocking right WB lane under the upper bridge right before Avalon exit.”

6:21 PM: We’ve been listening to scanner traffic with a crash involving a Metro bus and wires down off SB 509 at 128th in Burien, and now a texter has mentioned it. Just an FYI if you’re headed in that direction – we haven’t seen any indication how/whether it’s affecting highway traffic.

6:28 PM: Just heard from a caller that this is affecting people trying to get onto SB 509 there. And Burien Police just tweeted:

6:47 PM: We weren’t on today’s media conference call due to a conflicting story interview (unrelated) but tomorrow we’re planning to cover a #Realign99 construction-zone tour and briefing. Any unanswered questions about how that’s going, let us know – thanks!

7:24 PM: A King County Sheriff’s Office photo from the 509/128th crash:

KCSO also says that “the driver of the white pickup truck is under arrest on suspicion of DUI.” He also was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Also: Today’s project update and other notes from WSDOT, including the morning West Seattle Water Taxi tally – under 1,000 for the first time this week but still triple last year’s ridership.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:30 AM: Good morning! The change in the weather has arrived – but it’s not raining hard outside, just misting – so far. No incidents reported in our area.

5:55 AM: As with the previous three mornings, the bridge looks busier earlier.

6:13 AM: And even busier now. (Here’s a screengrab for the record.)

6:20 AM: Our crew, heading shortly for Water Taxi watch for the fourth day, reports it’s NOT raining right now. Warmer than recent mornings – 46 degrees.

6:40 AM: If you commute regionally and rely on WSDOT travel times – they’ve been coping with an outage but are now back, here.

6:50 AM: First report in from our crew at the West Seattle Water Taxi dock – rough couht ~70 on the boat that’s about to take off.

7:11 AM: Still nothing out of the ordinary to report. (added) Covered waiting area at Water Taxi dock still not needed, since the rain has yet to resume:

7:28 AM: By our count, about 150 on the Water Taxi that’s just taking off.

7:39 AM: Water Taxi usage is down this morning. Fewer triple-digit runs by our count; 79 on this one. Back on land watch, no train or low-bridge trouble this morning, unlike yesterday … so far.

7:58 AM: Just tweeted by BNSF, whose only tweet during yesterday’s 45+-minute blockage was to tell pedestrians to get off the tracks:

8:06 AM: Low bridge busy eastbound right now. Here’s a moment-in-time screengrab. No maritime openings logged so far this morning.

8:19 AM: One last Water Taxi count on our watch before our crew oves on – 77 for the 8:15-ish run. Remember that the extra service is here for two months, all the way until the 7-day-a-week schedule kicks in at the end of March, so lots of time to try it if you haven’t yet but could.

9:02 AM: Morning four of “Viadoom” hasn’t seemed very doomy. This tweet seems to corroborate:

We’re moving on to other news atop the page – so much to catch up on – but will continue to update here if any notable morning situations arise, plus we’ll be on PM watch again, with the weather projected to get wetter/breezier by then.

10:02 AM: Low bridge closed to surface traffic a few minutes ago, for the first time this morning. (Update: The closure lasted 11 minutes.)

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

3:45 PM: We’re on PM commute watch now. Trouble spot reported by Jim Edwards:

SB West Marginal way down to one lane approaching Highland Park Way. Construction material spill (chunky mud) covering Left GP and left turn lane. Sweepers and Commercial Enforcement on scene.

4:39 PM: No incidents of note but general assessment, I-5 traffic is heavy both ways.

4:56 PM: Not an unusual alert from Washington State Ferries, but since we’re tracking the PM commute: “There is an estimated 60-minute wait for drivers departing Fauntleroy due to heavy vehicle traffic boarding the vessels.”

5:27 PM: And now, no extended wait. … The “low bridge” is closed right now so maritime traffic can pass through. Remember that the PM period when the Coast Guard agreed to limit bridge openings is 2-5 pm.

5:44 PM: After about 20 minutes of being closed to surface traffic, the low bridge has reopened.

(TUESDAY MORNING COVERAGE HERE)

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

4:05 PM: Good afternoon! We’re watching the PM commute again today. No specific issues right now. Most recent regional overview from WSDOT: “Travel times are pretty tame at the moment.”

4:49 PM: All’s still well. Keeping an eye on downtown too. And the forecast – now a “slight chance of rain” tomorrow morning, a little higher chance Wednesday afternoon, then “likely” on Thursday.

5:40 PM: Bus report tweeted by Randy:

5:51 PM: If you are headed OUT of West Seattle, heads-up – just heard a dispatch for a two-car “blocking” crash on the eastbound high bridge. Exactly where, haven’t heard, but hope it’s off to the side as the drivers are reported to be “arguing with each other.”

6:05 PM: Police were unable to find the crash scene, so apparently they moved on.

6:16 PM: If you head this way on 4th Avenue S., heads up about a Seattle Fire response at 4th/Stacy (map) just south of downtown. “Burning pile of debris” is the report. Reportedly on the north side of the street so SB traffic not too likely to be affected.

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

5:29 AM: Good morning! Welcome to a foggy Tuesday. Among the things you should know as we start coverage for the second weekday of three weeks without Highway 99:

RIDE2: King County says “Customers can again request trips for Ride2 West Seattle using the app or via phone calls. Our contractor is monitoring the system after making fixes last night.”

5:54 AM: The fog is expected to hang around through the entire commute – a “dense fog advisory” through 9 am.

6:10 AM: High bridge looks busy. Regionally, travel times are reported to be “above average,” so people are commuting earlier again today.

6:26 AM: Texter says police are out watching the new 4th Avenue temp bus lane. SDOT did send us a revised map (PDF) of the lane as it exits the eastbound West Seattle Bridge.

6:34 AM: Thanks to the texter who just let us know that two buses, Routes 50 and 37, got into a bit of a scrape on Alki:

I am just leaving to catch the water taxi shuttle for the water taxi into downtown and there is a bus collision, it’s on 61st and Alki Ave.

It hasn’t started to cause any trouble but just wanted to let you all know! Not too bad, looks like one of the buses clipped the other and knocked off the side mirror.

6:45 AM: Also on the topic of buses, Colleen reports via Twitter that her C Line was full from The Junction and skipped the remaining WS stops. One other Twitter report, from Mary: “6:10 #56 almost full before reaching California Ave. New early crowd for sure.”

6:59 AM: Our crew is now at the Water Taxi dock to see how things are going. First three sailings: 113, 60, 120. That first one was more than yesterday, but since both boats hold 200+, there’s still plenty of room. And if you don’t have anyone to drop you there and can’t get to a bus/shuttle, usage of the temp (free) lot at Pier 2 did not get anywhere close to maxing out Monday, so that’s an option (entrance is across from the Harbor Ave 7-11).

7:13 AM: 81 people on the 7:05 Water Taxi. And reps at the dock confirm Pier 2 has plenty of room to park. The bridge, meantime, looks full, but in our experience, this seems to be the start of peak time anyway.

7:44 AM: City traffic engineer Dongho Chang has tweeted bicycling stats from Monday. Major jumps from comparable dates the past two years – 1,666 riders counted yesterday.

8:06 AM: The roads definitely peaked early. Meantime, more West Seattle Water Taxi numbers – 190 at 7:25, 99 at 7:40, 165 at 8 am.

8:34 AM: Bridge and I-5 are still busy – if you’re trying to avoid jams you probably need to wait at least another hour. Also remember that the Coast Guard has agreed to limit low-bridge openings for marine traffic between 7 and 10 am and 2 pm and 5 pm – there was one low-bridge opening around 6:30 on Monday – so if you avoid the low bridge because of the unpredictability, it might be more feasible here during Highway 99-less-ness.

8:48 AM: Looking ahead, the rain is now expected to stay away until Thursday morning. So we’ll likely have two rainy commutes, and then next Monday is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

8:57 AM: If you are headed northbound beyond downtown, take note – three lanes of NB I-5 are blocked near Northgate by a semitruck on its side.

9:04 AM: Our crew is back from spending the past few hours at the Water Taxi dock and reports, “It’s slick out there.” … Got questions? We’ll be on the multi-agency media conference call again at 11:30 (yesterday’s participants included WSDOT, SDOT, Metro, Sound Transit) so let us know.

(SEE OUR MORNING COVERAGE HERE)

(SDOT MAP with travel times / WS-relevant traffic cams / Water Taxi schedule, other helpful info HERE)

3:30 PM: Good afternoon! We’re back to watch the journey home. For starters, Dale sends word that the 4000 block of SW Oregon should be avoided – police are there handling a crash.

3:57 PM: All clear. Incident Response Team truck was just leaving.

4:17 PM: From SDOT: “We’re seeing light traffic on major roads downtown, but traffic is picking up on Mercer St EB, I-5 SB into downtown, and on the West Seattle Bridge EB toward I-5.”

4:35 PM: If you’re choosing your route home, 1st Avenue on the south side of downtown looks good, per updates from a texter.

5:20 PM: As pointed out in comments, the TV helicopters are back over the bridge … South of downtown, a crash is reported at 1st and Holgate. On the northbound side, but still – FYI.

5:31 PM: The Water Taxi sends an official announcement of the adjustment reported earlier in a comment by SeattleNewbie: “During this first evening commute of #Realign99, crews are testing a new boarding procedure at Pier 52. Riders can pretap ORCA cards to prepay in order to expedite boarding during this period of high demand.” … Meantime, our Amazon-bus commuter tipster says it was a half-hour ride home just now, southbound I-5 to the West Seattle Bridge.