(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: Good morning! No incidents reported in/from West Seattle so far this morning.

8:27 AM: Still a quiet commute.

(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)

6:54 AM: Good morning. Friday is off to a rainy start. So is traffic – a stalled-semi problem reported earlier from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge to northbound I-5 has just been cleared, but residual backups will take longer to dissipate.

PARADE AND FLOAT DODGER 5K TOMORROW: The weather IS expected to clear long before the West Seattle Grand Parade and Float Dodger 5K hit California Avenue on Saturday morning. Even if you’re not going, you should know about road closures, parking restrictions, and bus reroutes, ~7 am-3 pm Saturday – all in our latest preview.

ALKI ART FAIR: While the Saturday-Sunday Alki Art Fair (co-sponsored by WSB) does not close roads, you might want to know about the free shuttle – follow the link to the fair website and scroll down its homepage for info.

7:10 AM: Metro just texted and tweeted this bus cancellation:

(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! SDOT reported a collision in the 3100 block of Harbor SW this past half hour; the medic response was canceled quickly, so we don’t know if there’s any aftermath. Nothing else in the area so far this morning. Otherwise:

NO BRIDGE CLOSURE: SDOT canceled the plan for Fauntleroy Expressway closures last night and tonight; no new dates yet.

SATURDAY REMINDERS: We’ve been reminding you about Saturday (July 23rd) road closures and parking restrictions (the signs are out now) for the West Seattle Grand Parade, Kiddie Parade, and Float Dodger 5K; California SW south of SW Admiral Way, to The Junction, will be closed from early morning into early afternoon, and some side streets along the way have parking restrictions, too, posted for 7 am-3 pm. (added) … The bus reroutes for Saturday are now published – see them here.

8:35 AM: Trouble on the westbound bridge:

10:24 AM: Some sort of incident east of the low bridge is causing some truck backup on the westbound side but eastbound is going OK with SPD help.

(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)

6:52 AM: Good morning! No incidents in or from West Seattle so far. What you need to know:

NO BRIDGE CLOSURES AFTER ALL: SDOT has postponed its plans to close the Fauntleroy Expressway tonight and tomorrow and says it’ll reschedule.

SATURDAY REMINDERS: This Saturday (July 23rd) brings the West Seattle Grand Parade, Kiddie Parade, and Float Dodger 5K; California SW south of SW Admiral Way, to The Junction, will be closed from early morning into early afternoon; watch for signage on some of the immediate side streets too, for parade staging and dispersal.

(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)

6:30 AM: Good morning! We start again with the previews:

WHAT’S AHEAD: The west end of the West Seattle Bridge will be closed overnight tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday nights, as the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-cushion re-replacement project gets closer to concluding … Saturday morning (July 23rd) brings the West Seattle Grand Parade, Kiddie Parade, and Float Dodger 5K, which close California SW south of SW Admiral Way, to The Junction, into early afternoon, and affect some of the immediate side streets too, for parade staging and dispersal. Watch here for bus-reroute information later this week.

(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)

6:39 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far. Chance of showers/thundershowers today, says the forecast, and other parts of the metro area are seeing them already.

LOOKING AHEAD: The west end of the West Seattle Bridge will be closed overnight Wednesday and Thursday nights, as announced last week … Next Saturday morning (July 23rd) brings the West Seattle Grand Parade, Kiddie Parade, and Float Dodger 5K, which close California SW south of SW Admiral Way into early afternoon – here’s our most recent preview.

8:25 AM: Trouble on the Northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct – a crash just before the Western Avenue exit. WSDOT says it’s “blocking the right lane and partially blocking the off-ramp.” We’re also seeing an SFD crash response for 1st Avenue S. at East Marginal Way S. – no details on that one, though.

8:41 AM: SDOT says the Viaduct crash scene has cleared. No injuries reported; SFD was not dispatched.

Thanks to the texter who sent those photos of cars involved in a crash a short time ago on westbound SW Admiral Way just east of California SW. No major injuries reported – Seattle Fire has a one-engine response.

No other info but we are mentioning because with commute time approaching, might be backups here until the wrecked vehicles are 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)

6:52 AM: Good morning! No major incidents in/from West Seattle so far. Now that it’s Thursday, it’s time to look ahead to the weekend, including:

ROAD CLOSURE FOR JUBILEE DAYS STREET FAIR: Saturday and Sunday, 17th SW between Roxbury and 100th will be closed for the White Center Jubilee Days street fair.

METRO 120 REROUTE FOR SUNDAY PARADE: The Jubilee Days parade on Sunday (July 17th) will bring a reroute of the 120 between 10 am and 1 pm, on 16th SW from SW 100th south to SW 116th – details here.

BOEING CENTENNIAL: In comments earlier this week, “Trickycoolj” mentioned signage for the East Marginal Way closure south of the South Park Bridge this weekend because of the Boeing Centennial festivities. Still haven’t found anything official, likely because the celebration is not a public event, but better forewarned than not.

8:01 AM: Still quiet. Checked the West Seattle-vicinity live video feeds from the SDOT “travelers’ information map” to verify.

8:35 AM: Trouble on the eastbound high bridge. Just in from SDOT:

(Thanks also to Matt and Mike for telling us about this crash.)

8:55 AM: Also a crash on the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge.

8:58 AM: Just checked in on the camera. West Seattle Bridge crash still blocking the center eastbound lane right after the curve. Police and incident response are there.

(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)

6:16 AM: Good morning! If you’re just waking up – you probably missed the hourlong middle-of-night power outage that affected 3,770+ customers in several neighborhoods (here’s our coverage). Everything should be back to normal. (If not, let the authorities know, and then us!)

One alert to share:

FERRY ALERT LATE TONIGHT … technically, early Thursday. Some sailings to and from Southworth will be canceled for dock work during a three-hour period – 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)

7:06 AM: Good morning. Nothing reported on the main routes but we’re heading over to check out a crash at 20th SW/SW Cloverdale.

7:24 AM: In the meantime, regional road-work alerts to share:

OVERNIGHT TONIGHT, NORTHBOUND I-5: The northbound lanes of I-5 downtown will be closed at Seneca Street 11:30 pm tonight until no later than 4:30 am Wednesday, WSDOT says, for repair work.

7:33 AM: The crash at 20th/Cloverdale was a one-car rollover – only logged as a basic “motor-vehicle incident” with one engine originally dispatched to the call around quarter till 7, so didn’t catch our attention until a reader texted us (206-293-6302 any time – thank you!).

Police at the scene say the driver was taken to the hospital by private ambulance to be checked out, but not seriously hurt. The tow truck is arriving and this should be clear shortly.

(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)

6:50 AM: Good morning! Post-Summer Fest cleanup concluded overnight and Junction streets are open again, with bus routes back to normal. Also, no incidents in/from West Seattle so far; regional reports say traffic volumes are a little lower than usual.

BRIDGE CLOSURE TONIGHT: As announced last week, the west end of the bridge will close overnight tonight, starting at 9 pm and reopening by 5 am, for a round of followup after the re-replacement of more than 600 earthquake-safety cushions beneath the Fauntleroy Expressway section.

8:56 AM – ONE MORE OVERNIGHT ALERT: From WSDOT – Concrete-panel work on I-90 between I-5 and Lake Washington will bring these closures this week:

Monday, July 11, to the morning of Wednesday, July 13
Each night from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning, crews will close the ramp from northbound I-5 to eastbound I-90.

Wednesday, July 13, to the morning of Friday, July 15
Each night from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning, crews will close the ramp from southbound I-5 to eastbound I-90.

12:21 PM: Thanks to everybody who’s tipped us about backups on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge. It turns out to be unannounced road work – stripe-painting near 99, according to what we’re seeing on the cameras. We haven’t been able to get SDOT to reply on Twitter (where they usually have 7-day-a-week staff) with information on how much longer this will last, so for now, be forewarned of eastbound backups TFN.

2:22 PM: Just checked again on the video camera and it appears this has ended – the eastbound bridge looks to be flowing normally again.

(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: It’s Friday and the first day of West Seattle Summer Fest. The festival officially starts at 10 am but road closures and bus reroutes began last night at 6 pm. Here’s what you need to know:

STREETS CLOSED: The closure zone is on California Avenue SW between SW Edmunds and SW Genesee (with SW Oregon remaining open to east/west traffic), and SW Alaska between 42nd and 44th.

BUS REROUTES: From the Metro “alerts and updates” page, which will be in effect until late Sunday night (the festival ends at 5 pm Sunday but breakdown and cleanup last for several hours):

C Line – here
Route 22 – here
Route 37 – here
Route 50 – here
Route 55 – here
Route 57 – here
Route 128 – here
Route 773 Water Taxi Shuttle – here

7:15 AM: Trouble on northbound 99, according to this WSDOT tweet:

8:39 AM: If you’re heading south on I-5 over the weekend, remember the pavement project that will lead to lane closures in South King County.

(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)

6:07 AM: Good morning and welcome to Thursday. It’s the eve of West Seattle Summer Fest, with the roads closing tonight both for festival setup and for pre-festival fun. Here’s what you need to know:

STREETS CLOSE @ 6 PM: That’s California Avenue SW between SW Edmunds and SW Genesee (with SW Oregon remaining open to east/west traffic), and SW Alaska between 42nd and 44th.

BUS REROUTES START @ 5 PM: That’s according to the reroute plans linked from the Metro “alerts and updates” page, which will be in effect until post-festival breakdown/cleanup wraps up late Sunday night:

C Line – here
Route 22 – here
Route 37 – here
Route 50 – here
Route 55 – here
Route 57 – here
Route 128 – here
Route 773 Water Taxi Shuttle – here

8:46 AM: We’ve had two reports about this hazard to bicycle riders:

Many small (1′ diameter) piles of broken glass have appeared next to the fog line on both sides of the street on Beach Drive, from one end to the other.

The glass is exactly where cyclists would normally ride, so you’ll need to ride out in the roadway to avoid flats. Be careful out there. -JH

As we’ve told both people who reported it, if you see something of danger in the right of way, to anyone – riders, walkers, drivers – please report it ASAP to SDOT so they can investigate/clean it up. Their 24-hour dispatch is 206-386-1218.

(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)

6:34 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far, but with more people getting back to work today after an extended holiday weekend, traffic volumes are increasing.

SUMMER FEST ROAD CLOSURES START TOMORROW NIGHT: Another reminder – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday bring West Seattle Summer Fest to the heart of The Junction. 6 pm Thursday is when the road closures begin, for setup – California SW between Edmunds and Genesee, SW Alaska between 44th and 42nd. Metro’s festival-related reroutes still aren’t up; if that changes later today, we’ll update here.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND: If you are headed off-peninsula, take note of big projects on southbound I-5 in south King County and eastbound I-90 just east of I-5 – WSDOT has details of both here.

FAUNTLEROY EXPRESSWAY PROJECT: We verified yesterday with SDOT that the remainder of the earthquake-safety project, which had been closing the west end of the West Seattle Bridge five nights a week, is on hold until further notice, following last Friday’s deadly incident.

7:06 AM: Still quiet so far this morning. So we have another reminder:

WHAT’S NEXT FOR 35TH AVENUE SW? We’ve been waiting for months to find out when SDOT would start the next round of conversation about the rechannelization results so far and Phase 2 plans (for 35th SW, at Morgan and points north). Finally, as we reported on Tuesday, the project website has been updated with word of an August 4th meeting.

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

7:05 AM: Some are continuing their holiday weekend today, and traffic volumes are reported to be lighter than the usual weekend around the region. No incidents this morning in/from West Seattle, so far.

LOOKING AHEAD: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday bring West Seattle Summer Fest to the heart of The Junction – filling California SW between Edmunds and Genesee, SW Alaska between 44th and 42nd. Our previews resume today. Metro’s festival-related reroutes aren’t up yet but we’ll spotlight them as soon as they are.

7:15 AM – BUS CANCELLATION: Just texted and tweeted by Metro, a few minutes after the fact:

ADDED: In case you wondered – SDOT confirms to WSB that the remaining Fauntleroy Expressway work is on hold because of last Friday’s incident that left one worker dead and another hurt. So no bridge closures until further notice.

9:35 AM: Continuing the coverage we began just after 8 am in our morning traffic watch:

Two workers were rushed to Harborview Medical Center after a truck driver hit the lift they were in, working by the west end of the West Seattle Bridge.

One worker, described as a 40-year-old man, has life-threatening injuries, and that’s why the Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation Squad was called out.

This happened alongside the bridge, on the exit from surface Spokane Street headed up to Admiral Way, and that area is blocked off right now. This is where the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-cushion work has been under way but we haven’t yet verified with SDOT that the crew was associated with that project. We will update this report with any further information about the investigation, the victims, and the road closure, which we’re hearing may expand to block off more of the Spokane/Manning/Admiral intersection.

10:08 AM: The turn from Avalon to cut under the bridge toward Admiral is also blocked off.

11:14 AM: We are just back from the briefing at Harborview, but as commenters point out, SPD Blotter was updated in the meantime. They confirmed to us at Harborview (where SFD had a fireworks-safety briefing pre-scheduled, and we then found out SPD and SDOT would be answering questions about this incident, so we headed there) that the crew was working on the Fauntleroy Expressway project, and that the truck we had photographed on Admiral Way (above) was the one involved. SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan told us at the briefing that it’s too soon to say if this will delay the completion of the bridge work, which has been under way since May. More to come, including video of the briefing.

12:10 PM: Harborview spokesperson Susan Gregg confirms what a commenter had reported earlier – that the man who fell the furthest has died.

1:18 PM: We’re just back from checking on what’s still closed off. TCIS was clearing the Avalon/Harbor intersection while we were there, but the scene itself, westbound lower Spokane to Admiral, was still closed. We’ll check back at midafternoon.

2:52 PM: Per both scanner and Twitter, the scene has fully 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)

6:57 AM: Good morning and happy Friday. No incidents in or from West Seattle, so far. Here’s what you need to know as the holiday weekend arrives:

NEXT BRIDGE CLOSURE, TUESDAY NIGHT: The Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-safety work is done for the week, and because of Monday’s holiday, the next overnight closure of the west end of the West Seattle Bridge isn’t scheduled until Tuesday night-Wednesday morning.

HOLIDAY TRANSIT CHANGES: They’re in our one-page West Seattle 4th of July guide.

MONDAY PARADE: Later this morning, we’re publishing an update on Monday’s 4th of July Kids’ Parade in North Admiral. If you’re not participating or watching, main thing to remember in terms of traffic is that the parade crosses California SW at Atlantic while en route to the endpoint at Hamilton Viewpoint Park, and police stop traffic at that point. Metro Route 128 will be rerouted, too.

CITYWIDE ALERTS: Here’s the SDOT roundup for the holiday weekend, including the M’s schedule at Safeco.

8:01 AM: We’re hearing a dispatch for an emergency response on or near the West Seattle Bridge – the medical response is being sent to the Nucor vicinity, possibly a construction worker falling from a lift; we haven’t yet heard what they’ve found, but if you’re seeing a response in the area, that’s what’s going on.

8:09 AM: According to the scanner, a construction worker fell at least 30 feet from a lift and is being rushed to the hospital – there is reported to be a second victim on the ramp to Admiral from lower Spokane St. We’re still not clear on how this happened nor how it is affecting traffic but are headed to the scene to try to find out.

8:13 AM: Per scanner, a truck hit the lift, causing the fall. The victim is reported to be 40 years old and has multiple injuries. We will likely break this out to a separate report shortly but for now it appears westbound lower Spokane to Admiral is where the traffic effects are. Police are investigating.

8:49 AM: SFD has clarified that the two people who were hurt and taken to the hospital are both workers. One has life-threatening injuries. The other is seriously hurt, per SFD. The major incident-investigation squad TCIS has responded so the ramp to Admiral – again, this is the ramp from surface Spokane, not from the bridge itself – will likely be closed for hours.

9:35 AM: We’re continuing our coverage of the lift/truck incident in this just-published story.

(WSB photo from last week)

A few updates on the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-safety-cushion-re-replacement project, which has been closing the west end of the West Seattle Bridge five nights a week for most of the past month and a half: Project spokesperson Paul Elliott says the eastbound Spokane St. onramp closure announced for 7 pm tonight apparently is NOT happening after all – the work was done last night, he learned. So unless something else changes at the last minute, tonight will be a “regular” 9 pm-5 am closure of the west end of the bridge, both ways.

Good news is – they are almost done re-replacing the cushions. A few more tasks remain before the bridge closures are done with, according to Elliott, but they’re close. And because of the holiday, tonight is the last closure until next Tuesday night (July 5th). We should get a project status update post-holiday.

(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: Good morning. WSDOT says traffic is lighter than usual around the region, so it seems the holiday has started early for some. No major problems so far. Remember that tonight’s closure of the west end of the West Seattle Bridge will be preceded by a closure of the Spokane St. ramp to the eastbound bridge at 7 pm, and SDOT says the bridge closure itself won’t start until that’s done.

SODO TONIGHT: Mariners’ home stand continues with a 7:10 pm game vs. Baltimore.

4TH OF JULY INFO: Transit plans for the holiday are part of our annual Independence Day guide, which you can see here.

5:08 PM: SDOT now says the ramp closure is NOT happening tonight – the bridge closure should be on a “normal” schedule. That update and more, here.

(Screengrab from SDOT video feed)

6:07 PM: SDOT reports two eastbound lanes are blocked on the high bridge by a crash. Seattle Fire is responding too.

6:25 PM: This is actually just west of the 4th Avenue exit, according to the live feed on the SDOT Travelers’ Information page. The SFD response “closed” fairly quickly, so apparently no major injuries.

6:50 PM: SDOT tweet and video feed both confirm the crash scene is cleared. (Thanks again to the tipsters who checked in to make sure we’d heard.)