West Seattle, Washington
25 Monday
5:45 PM: No specifics have been announced for security concerns, but the Saudi Crown Prince is in the area this afternoon and Seattle Police say downtown traffic is about to be affected – temporary shutdowns for a motorcade route. So if you are, or have to go through, downtown, you might want to wait a bit. He arrived in Everett this afternoon after flying from New York.
(WSB photo: Water Taxi on Friday night after service resumed)
6:35 PM: We don’t know if this is related, but we just got an alert that West Seattle Water Taxi runs are canceled between now and 7:30 pm, when service will resume with the run from Pier 52 downtown.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:03 AM: Good morning! No incidents or transit alerts in our area so far this morning.
8:45 AM: From SDOT: “Please use caution around the roadwork on the West Seattle Bridge taking the westbound right lane near Fauntleroy Way SW. Expect to see crews until 1 PM today.”
9:30 AM: And from WSDOT, for tomorrow:
South King county travelers ➡️ If you're headed to downtown Seattle on Saturday morning, a reminder that the two right lanes on the NB SR 99 1st Avenue South Bridge will be closed from 6-10:30 a.m. for maintenance work. #PlanAhead pic.twitter.com/1wK2YyUD1Y
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) March 30, 2018
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:02 AM: Good morning. No incidents in/from West Seattle so far, and no transit alerts.
WATER TAXI SCHEDULE CHANGE: Today is the first day of the West Seattle Water Taxi‘s spring/summer schedule, which adds weekends as well as runs between the am and pm commutes (through October 28th). And extended schedules on game nights – such as tonight, first game of the season for the Mariners (7:10 pm vs. Cleveland).
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:07 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far, and no transit alerts, either.
WATER TAXI REMINDER: Today is the final day of the winter/early spring weekdays-and-commute-times-only West Seattle Water Taxi schedule. Tomorrow, the 7-day/all-day schedule begins, including weekend evenings as well as game nights – like tomorrow, for the M’s opener.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:52 AM: Good morning. One transit alert so far this morning – an after-the-fact alert – Metro announced at 6:25 am that the 6:02 am Route 55 bus “did not operate.”
As for traffic incidents, none yet in or from West Seattle.
7:38 AM: Stalled vehicle in outside lane on EB bridge at exit to I-5.
7:55 AM: SDOT says that has cleared.
8:45 AM: Crash reported at Delridge/Orchard. (Added) Metro says this is delaying buses.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:55 AM: Good morning and welcome to a rainy Monday morning. No incidents reported in or from West Seattle so far. But there’s a ferry alert – the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is down to 2 boats:
The #3 vessel Issaquah is out of service with a steering issue until further notice. The following sailings are canceled: 6:40 am from Vashon, 7:05 am from Fauntleroy, 7:30 am from Vashon to Southworth, 7:55 am from Southworth, 8:15 am from Vashon, and the 8:45 am from Fauntleroy. Two-boat service on the regular schedule is in effect until further notice.
4:29 PM: Just in from WSDOT via Twitter: The Alaskan Way Viaduct has reopened early, and its inspection is fully finished, so NO closure will be needed on Sunday.
6:37 PM: And in case you’ve missed our recent reports of government officials saying the Viaduct’s permanent shutdown might be as close as September, something similar is reiterated in the WSDOT news release about the conclusion of today’s inspection: “These twice-yearly inspection closures help make sure the road remains safe for drivers until the new SR 99 tunnel opens. The new tunnel may open as early as this fall.”
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7 AM: Good morning. No incidents or transit alerts so far. Reminders:
VIADUCT CLOSED TOMORROW, MAYBE SUNDAY: Yet another reminder – the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for its regular spring inspection, 6 am-6 pm tomorrow, and on Sunday if the work isn’t completed on Saturday. We’ll of course be tracking it on Saturday and will have an update here when WSDOT announces the Sunday plan.
BUS REROUTES DURING CLOSURE: Metro’s reroute alerts are all linked here.
OTHER WEEKEND ALERTS: Saturday’s March for Our Lives from Capitol Hill to Seattle Center, plus two major overnight lane closures on I-5 downtown, are all part of SDOT’s roundup.
9:42 AM: Crash in the 1500 block of SW Holden, per SDOT.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:59 AM: Good morning. No incidents reported in/from West Seattle so far this rainy Thursday morning; no transit alerts.
VIADUCT CLOSURE REMINDER: On Saturday, the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed for its regular spring inspection, 6 am-6 pm, and again Sunday if the work isn’t completed on Saturday.
7:05 AM: Just reported by WSDOT, a crash on the northbound 1st Avenue S. Bridge, blocking the HOV lane and “partly blocking” the left general-purpose lane.
7:24 AM: WSDOT says that has cleared.
7:49 AM: I-5 northbound through downtown has a problem – stalled vehicle blocking center lane just south of Seneca.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:58 AM: We start with word of a “heavy rescue” response to a car-on-its-side crash in the 2600 block of Walnut in Admiral. One person is reported to be hurt. More to come.
7:04 AM: We’re breaking this out to its own story but will cover any other traffic incidents here.
7:53 AM: Reminder that the Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to close for its regular semiannual inspection on Saturday, 6 am-6 pm, and Sunday too IF needed.
Meantime, there’s a crash at 4th S./S. Spokane that’s reported to be blocking all westbound lanes of Spokane.
4:08 PM: Thanks to Kersti for the tip – police are directing traffic around a crash by Fauntleroy Park, at Henderson/Barton [map]. If you are headed to/from the ferry dock or the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse/YMCA (WSB sponsor) area, you might want to try an alternate route, for now.
5:14 PM: Still not clear – we just went through the area. But probably not too much longer, since a tow truck has arrived.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:58 AM: Good morning. Spring officially arrives at 9:15 am so it’s the last commute of winter. So far, no incidents reported in/from West Seattle; no transit alerts.
VIADUCT CLOSURE REMINDER: Remember that the Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to close 6 am-6 pm Saturday (March 24th) for inspection; if the work isn’t completed that day, it’ll close Sunday too.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:59 AM: Good morning. No incidents reported right now in/from West Seattle; no transit alerts so far.
VIADUCT CLOSURE THIS WEEKEND: We’ll remind you every day this week – the Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to close 6 am-6 pm Saturday (March 24th) for its spring inspection, and again on Sunday if the work isn’t completed Saturday.
WATER TAXI NOTE: As mentioned Friday, the Water Taxi backup boat Spirit of Kingston is scheduled to fill in for the Kitsap Transit foot ferry starting today, but King County says that if there’s a problem during that time with either of its boats, SoK will fill in.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:45 AM: Thanks for the tips. Emergency responders are being sent to a crash on the bridge. SDOT describes it as “blocking the left eastbound and left westbound lane at SW Avalon Way.” The most-recent caller tells us it’s by the pedestrian overpass.
6:57 AM: Another tipster says this has pushed out the jersey barriers, which would add time to the crash-clearing work.
(SDOT image of bridge crash scene, via Twitter)
7:14 AM: Still blocking, per SDOT. So avoid the Fauntleroy bridge entrance, as that’s the section affected.
7:37 AM: Metro just sent a late alert that the 7:20 am Route 57 didn’t run.
8:03 AM: Two more problems – police are headed to a crash at 11th SW and SW Elmgrove, no injuries reported. And there’s a medical callout to 42nd and Admiral – a vehicle/pedestrian collision is reported.
8:09 AM: The pedestrian’s injuries are not major and won’t require SFD medic-unit transport, per scanner.
8:19 AM: Per Bill‘s tweet from the scene, the Admiral/42nd incident is at the southeast corner.
8:24 AM: And in case you were wondering, still no “all clear” from the bridge crash scene.
8:43 AM: After two hours, SDOT says, the bridge crash scene IS now clear.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:01 AM: Good morning. No incidents or traffic alerts in West Seattle or on the outbound routes so far.
7:21 AM: At 7:19 we got the Metro alert that the 7:19 Route 56 wouldn’t run today.
7:40 AM: And at 7:38 we got the alert that the 7:32 Route 56 didn’t run.
7:56 AM: Thanks for the tips. Crash in the outside eastbound lane of the West Seattle Bridge. SDOT just tweeted an alert too.
8:36 AM: Bridge crash cleared.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:59 AM: Good morning. No incidents or traffic alerts in/from West Seattle so far.
Later today:
STUDENT WALKOUTS: If you’re going to be near a middle/high school at 10 am, remember these are expected to happen, as previewed here. The only plan we’ve heard of that’s likely to affect traffic is at Chief Sealth IHS/Denny IMS, where participating students say they’ll be walking to Southwest Athletic Complex across SW Thistle.
ENCAMPMENT CLEANUP: The city and WSDOT are expected to be working on the slope over Highway 509, east of Myers Way, which could mean vehicles on the shoulder of the southbound side.
8:59 AM: Via scanner, police are on their way to check out a collision reported “eastbound, mid-span” on the West Seattle Bridge.
9:04 AM: One person is reported to be hurt.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:57 AM: Good morning! We just checked around – no incidents are reported so far on the routes in and from West Seattle. No transit alerts in the area either.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:01 AM: Good morning. First weekday since weekend changes – Daylight Saving Time is here, and Metro’s service change took effect. No transit alerts or incidents reported in the area so far.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:53 AM: Good morning. Metro has sent out a multitude of transit alerts so far this morning. Two are for this area – the 7:15 am Route 55 from Admiral will not run, and the 7:39 am Route 113 from Shorewood will not run (that one skipped its 6:27 am run too).
This is all one day before Metro’s periodic “service change,” which includes some changes to local routes – here’s our original preview with details.
Also this weekend, Daylight Saving Time arrives early Sunday – at 2 am, we “spring forward” an hour to 3 am.
Otherwise – we’ve just checked around, and no traffic incidents are reported in/from West Seattle so far.
7:23 AM: Add to the bus list, the 8:22 am Route 56 won’t run, Metro says.
WSDOT won’t send out a notice until it’s closer, but for your advance planning, we’ve confirmed that – as listed on the city’s weekly Construction Lookahead – the next Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection closure is set for Saturday, March 24th, 6 am-6 pm. The state also reserves the right to close it again the same hours on Sunday, March 25th, but recent closures haven’t needed that second day. In confirming this with AWV spokesperson Laura Newborn, we noted that many people are likely to be on the road on March 24th getting to and from the March For Our Lives; she says they set the date before the march was planned, but hope it won’t be too much of an impact since the march route is from Capitol Hill to Seattle Center.
P.S. The most recent estimate for the permanent closure of the AWV is September – that’s what County Councilmember Joe McDermott told the West Seattle Transportation Coalition last month.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:14 AM: Good morning. Rain’s back. No traffic incidents or transit alerts for our area so far.
METRO SERVICE CHANGE SATURDAY: Another reminder that Saturday is when Metro’s next “service change” kicks in. Here’s our preview with West Seattle-specific changes.
10:45 AM: Thanks for the tip about a power outage on Harbor Island. The City Light map confirms 200+ customers out both on Harbor Island and east, around Spokane St. east of Highway 99. SDOT reports downed wires in 1st/Spokane vicinity.
11:01 AM: Eastbound Spokane is blocked west of 1st; stoplights are out on E. Marginal at, and north of, Spokane. The light on Spokane east of the low bridge is out too, though the bridge itself appears to be operating normally.
12:04 PM: Texter says they have power back, and the SCL map confirms the outage is partly resolved.
12:39 PM: The map shows Harbor Island is all back on except for a few spots south of the low bridge.
4:28 PM: Added above, a photo of the power pole that was hit, causing the outage. About two dozen customers are still shown as out, along Spokane between 99 and 4th Ave. S.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:02 AM: Good morning! No incidents currently reported in/from West Seattle.
8:25 AM: Just heard via scanner – police are being sent to Delridge/Edmunds to help with traffic because of a truck that’s having some kind of trouble turning.
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