(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 school today in Seattle Public Schools and schools that follow its calendar, for the “day between semesters.” No traffic incidents reported in/from West Seattle so far.

7:29 AM: If you’ve noticed that we don’t have consistent camera views above … while SDOT has been upgrading many of the cameras, they also have been changing the web addresses without warning. This morning we discovered that the address where the “midspan” camera was yesterday – seattle.gov/trafficcams/images/WSB_Midspan_EW.jpg – was showing something not on or near the bridge. We’ve reported it to SDOT.

7:44 AM: From the scanner, a westbound lane of SW Alaska is blocked at 40th SW by a crash. No SFD callout so apparently no injuries.

Also, LB informs us in comments that the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route is back up to capacity, with M/V Kitsap returning overnight – VesselWatch confirms that Kitsap, Issaquah, and Sealth are now on the route.

P.S. We covered the first meeting of the Triangle Improvement Task Force in Fauntleroy on Monday.

7:54 AM: SDOT has fixed the bridge camera, so we’ll return the second bridge view to what’s above.

8:28 AM: SDOT says the Alaska/40th crash has cleared.

9:03 AM: SFD is responding to a crash reported in the 7300 block of Sylvan Way [map], just west of Delridge. Per scanner discussion, Sylvan is icy at that spot, so they’re calling in SDOT to help fix that.

(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 and welcome to the last day of January. No trouble spots reported in/from our area so far.

Another reminder: No classes in Seattle Public Schools tomorrow (Wednesday); it’s the “day between semesters.”

8:26 AM: Multiple reports of a backup on Highland Park Way. Possibly traffic-signal repair near 2nd SW, according to one.

(UPDATED TUESDAY with SFD’s summary)

Added – reader photo. Truck at left.

4:01 PM: What SFD describes as “a leak from a truck” has blocked off 2nd and Marion downtown as well as part of 1st including the SB 99 onramp vicinity. More to come.

4:13 PM: To be specific about the “onramp vicinity,” SDOT says 1st/Columbia and 1st/Madison are also blocked off. Metro says via Twitter, “Buses are rerouted off of SB 2nd Av. Use stops on 2nd Av, north of Spring St/south of Columbia St.”

4:27 PM: Update from SFD via Twitter:

4:46 PM: Multiple readers are advising that buses are still getting onto the SB 99 ramp at Columbia.

4:52 PM: An SDOT video camera (choose “downtown” on the lower right of this page) is showing the ramp and looks like cars are getting on too – if they come down Columbia, or NB on 1st toward Columbia. Police are blocking 1st on the north side of Columbia and beyond.

4:58 PM: From scanner – crews have stopped the leak and moved the truck to level ground. They’ll be dismissing some crews.

5:07 PM: SDOT says one southbound lane on 1st “from Madison” has reopened.

5:27 PM: All lanes of 1st are now open, says SDOT, but 2nd remains closed.

6:17 PM Metro says SB buses are now getting through on 2nd.

7:42 PM: Not back to normal yet:

ADDED NOON TUESDAY: Here’s the SFD summary of the incident:

On Monday, January 30, 2017, at 3:23 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to the area of 2nd Avenue S and S Marion Street for a battery acid spill from a semi-truck.

The Seattle Fire Department responded to a request to investigate contents leaking out of the back of a semi-truck. SFD’s Hazmat team responded and determined the spilled product to be battery acid. They tested for hazardous materials, applied acid neutralizer and diked the downhill area to contain the spill. Firefighters also stabilized the rear doors of the semi-truck which was damaged by the shifting load.

King County Metro assisted in towing the semi-truck up the street where it was parked on a level surface, preventing further leakage. Firefighters found 11 pallets of batteries and verified that the leaking had stopped.

There were no reported injuries. Seattle Police Department, NRC Environmental Services, Seattle Department of Transportation, and Seattle Public Utilities Spill Response were on-site to assist with this incident.

(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 in/from West Seattle so far.

One note for later this week: No classes Wednesday (February 1st) for Seattle Public Schools.

7:41 Azm: A crash is reported to be blocking the right lane of NB 99 at Royal Brougham.

8:19 AM: If the eastbound bridge seems more sluggish than usual, SDOT says there’ve been 2 stalls, but both have cleared.

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

7:46 AM: Catching up on the last hour-plus of the morning peak: A crash on the 1st Avenue S. Bridge has cleared, but if you catch NB 509/99 south of there, a backup remains. And early tomorrow, there’ll be lane closures on the bridge:

Drivers heading into downtown Seattle on northbound State Route 99 should plan for delays early Saturday morning.

Washington State Department of Transportation bridge maintenance crews will close the three left lanes of northbound SR 99 on the 1st Avenue South Bridge at 1 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. All lanes will reopen by 8 a.m.

During this closure, crews will be conducting bridge grid deck repair work. One lane will remain open to traffic at all times.

And thanks for the sunrise photos – we’ll include some in the daily preview.

9:12 AM: We got a text a short time ago asking about what was logged as a medical call at Fauntleroy/Raymond before 7 am. No one texted or called while the call was still open so it wasn’t on our radar but we’ve just checked with SFD and they say one man was taken to the hospital after a call that was initially reported as a driver/bicyclist collision.

9:31 AM: If you’re heading out late – be advised, emergency crews have just been dispatched to an incident on NB 99 at Holgate.

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

6:59 AM: Good morning. No incidents in/from West Seattle and vicinity. But the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route has some delays, related to last night’s Vashon problems. Check the WSF Vessel Watch to see where the vessels are.

9:21 AM: The situation mentioned in comments about half an hour ago – train blocking surface Spokane St. – is still happening, according to a caller.

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

(Many of SDOT’s cameras in the area aren’t working this morning – above, three of the few that are)

7 AM: Good morning! No incidents, or transit changes, reported in/from West Seattle so far.

7:52 PM Just went by the scene of last night’s crash to be sure it’s open again – it is.

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

(Top left, looking west over the high bridge; top right, looking west over the Spokane Street Viaduct; below, looking SW toward the low bridge. Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)

6:39 AM: Below freezing this morning, so be alert for icy spots.

No incidents in/from West Seattle right now. One transit note: If you ride Route 120 to or from Burien, Metro has sent an alert that it’s rerouted off Ambaum between SW 136 and SW 143 in Burien “due to a blockage.”

9 AM: That situation has cleared and Route 120’s back to normal, Metro says.

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

(Top left, looking west over the high bridge; top right, looking west over the Spokane Street Viaduct; below, looking SW toward the low bridge. Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)

6:48 AM: Good morning. No incidents in/from West Seattle right now. If you use Sound Transit light rail, though, note that delays are expected as emergency crews handle what ST calls a “pedestrian injury” on the tracks at MLK/Othello.

7:43 AM SPD says the light-rail-track incident has turned fatal, so the investigation closure will last a while.

10:52 AM: Here’s the SPD Blotter update on the light-rail-track death.

(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)

7:28 AM: Transit alert just in from Metro – “Route 57 to downtown Seattle due to leave the Alaskan Junction at 7:38 AM will not operate this morning.”

7:36 AM: Here are the alerts for potential traffic effects later, related to Inauguration Day:

-School walkouts: So far, Madison MS remains the only one we’ve heard directly about, ~1:30 pm, but Seattle Public Schools says multiple middle/high schools may have walkouts this afternoon.

-Marches/rallies elsewhere in the city today/tonight: Here’s the SDOT alert.

7:42 AM: Then looking ahead to tomorrow, the city’s biggest scheduled event is the Womxn’s March on Seattle from Judkins Park to Seattle Center. Here’s the SDOT alert on that; here’s what Metro told us earlier this week when we asked, on behalf of multiple readers, about extra service.

8:27 AM: No commute problems reported so far.

8:50 AM: Now there’s a problem. Multiple reports of a truck losing its load – asphalt and/or concrete – on NB 99 just after the West Seattle Bridge exit, blocking a lane.

(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: We start with trouble on NB 99 – the Battery Street Tunnel is closed because of a crash – big backups.

7:07 AM: No injuries in 99 crash, apparently, as it was not on the 911 fire/medic log. And now SDOT says the tunnel is open again. Will take a while to clear the backup, of course.

7:21 AM: Since that’s settled, let’s look ahead to the next couple days. Here’s the citywide alert from SDOT about marches/rallies. (While it mentions only a Capitol Hill student rally, as published here, at least one local school walkout is planned, and Seattle Public Schools has said there might be other middle/high school walkouts Friday afternoon.) And for those participating in the Womxn’s March on Saturday, Metro plans to add buses, as we reported yesterday.

(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)

6:51 AM: Good morning! No incidents of note in or from West Seattle so far. Temperature’s in the mid-40s and roads are wet after a rainy night.

(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: Good morning! One last dry, cold morning – the rain isn’t expected to move in until tonight.

Meantime, here are the transportation changes for today’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day holiday:

METRO – Reduced weekday service
WATER TAXI – No service
SOUND TRANSIT – Regular weekday service for Route 560; light rail, Saturday schedule
CITY STREET PARKING – No charge at city-run pay stations/meters
SCHOOL BUSES – No school, so no buses

(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)

7:11 AM: Good morning! Below freezing yet again – upper 20s. No incidents reported in or from West Seattle right now.

LOOKING AHEAD: For the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day holiday, here are the transportation changes you can expect Monday:

METRO – Reduced weekday service
WATER TAXI – No service
SOUND TRANSIT – Regular weekday service for Route 560; light rail, Saturday schedule
CITY STREET PARKING – No charge at city-run pay stations/meters
SCHOOL BUSES – No school, so no buses

7:55 AM: Still no incidents to report. One other look ahead: If you need to get to the Eastside this weekend, be aware that eastbound I-90 will be narrowed all weekend, starting at 11 pm tonight – here are the details.

(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: Another below-freezing morning – official temp 27 degrees right now – so be mindful again of icy spots. Otherwise, unlike yesterday morning, no incidents reported in/from West Seattle.

7:27 AM: Also unlike yesterday, we’re noticing some frost on cars parked on the street, so you might need to allow yourself some scraping time.

9:15 AM: If you’re driving in Fauntleroy, be aware of the slide on Fauntleroy Place at Cloverdale – covered in a separate story.

(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)

5:38 AM: We’re launching early this morning because it’s already a troubled morning commute:

-Texter says a car spun out on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge and is blocking the left lane. No injuries reported (no Seattle Fire dispatch).

-If you take northbound I-5 from points south of the West Seattle Bridge, it’s closed because of a deadly crash overnight at Michigan.

-The Vashon Water Taxi is canceled again this morning (as it was last night) because of strong wind.

Watch out for road ice – temperatures are below freezing this morning.

6:12 AM: Another reader says the crash on the bridge is still blocking the two left lanes. It’s out of camera range, and SDOT hasn’t tweeted about it, so if you’re on a bus or otherwise in a passenger seat and you have an update (tow truck on scene or …) please comment.

Also, SFD is responding to a crash on NB 99 at Henderson – that would be south of the bridge. And Metro says the NB I-5 crash at Michigan is continuing to affect transit routes, even ones miles from the scene.

6:23 AM: The crash is near the crest of the EB West Seattle Bridge. Meantime, most lanes have reopened at the scene of the deadly NB I-5 crash at Michigan

6:41 AM: Thanks for the update in comments – bridge crash is reported to have cleared. And all lanes on NB I-5 at Michigan have reopened after that crash investigation (original incident was at 2 am). The SFD call for the NB 99/Henderson crash has closed.

7:21 AM: New problem! SDOT says a stall in the NB Battery Street Tunnel is backing up The Viaduct.

Meantime, there’s a medic response on the SFD 911 log as 38th/Alaska.

7:27 AM: SDOT says the Battery Street Tunnel stall has cleared, but as always …”residual delays” will remain for a while.

8:08 AM: It’s been such a busy morning, we forgot to mention that – as far as we know – another day of streetlight work on the west end of the bridge is scheduled today between 9 am and 4 pm. Details 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)

6:48 AM: Good morning! Once again this morning, the trouble is all outside the city – icy roads reported in the South Sound and on the Eastside. It’s been raining most of the night but we’re still a few degrees above freezing. No incidents in/from West Seattle so far.

BRIDGE WORK TODAY/TOMORROW: Today’s the day SDOT is scheduled to start streetlight-repair work on the west end of the West Seattle Bridge. The 9 am-4 pm work is set for today and tomorrow, as announced last week. 9 am-noon, crews will be on the west side, closing the Admiral Way exit. 1-4 pm, they’ll be on the east side, closing the curb lane, “from approximately where the roadway turns in and out of West Seattle to the Delridge Way SW onramp.”

(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)

7:01 AM: Good morning! While some areas outside Seattle – especially the South Sound – are having trouble with icy roads this morning, our temps have stayed above freezing. No problems reported in or from West Seattle so far.

COMING UP THIS WEEK: A few things you should know –

*The streetlight-repair work on the west end of the West Seattle Bridge is now scheduled for 9 am-4 pm Tuesday and Wednesday, as announced last week:

Westbound work will occur between 9 a.m. and noon on these days, and will require the closure of the Admiral Way exit. Motorists who would use this exit are asked to consider taking the Harbor Ave SW/Avalon Way SW exit instead.

Eastbound work will occur between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on these days, during which the eastbound curb lane will be closed. The closure will extend from approximately where the roadway turns in and out of West Seattle to the Delridge Way SW onramp.

7:48 AM: As noted in comments, an earlier note here about an SPS early dismissal this week was in error. So the next change in schedule is not until NEXT MONDAY – no school for MLK Day.

8:20 AM: Headed downtown for a story this morning, so here’s a bridge report from the passenger seat: Sluggish just before the crest of the high-rise, but now moving OK as we head toward the 4th exit. The 99 exit lane is backed up to before the crest. Probably fairly normal but we’re not out in the commute traffic that often.

8:41 AM: We’ve had this problem with 4th before – getting there via the bridge is relatively speedy, then once off the bridge, it can be a crawl to actually get into downtown, and that’s how it’s going right now.

12:27 AM: Just reminding you that the northbound lanes of Highway 99 between the West Seattle Bridge and Royal Brougham (stadium zone) are scheduled to remain closed until 8 am for pavement repair, so if you need to head from here to downtown, 1st, 4th, or I-5 are your main options. Another closure is scheduled for 10:30 pm Saturday night to 8 am Sunday.

7:08 AM: SDOT says WSDOT crews have cleared out and reopened NB 99.

11:22 AM: WSDOT says its crews finished the entire repair project last night/early today and so the closure scheduled for tonight/early Sunday is canceled.