Thanks to everyone who’s been telling us about this one – a crash is blocking the right lane of southbound 99 before the exit to the westbound West Seattle Bridge. The most recent update suggests traffic is backed up to the stadiums, so if you have to head toward West Seattle, you might consider an alternate route, or waiting a while. (Note that we don’t have a camera on this, so we won’t know immediately when it’s clear.)

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
It’s the final Friday of fall – with winter officially arriving at 3:03 pm Sunday. It’s also the last day of school before a two-week break; Seattle Public Schools students get out one hour early today.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Heading for the heart of the commute, nothing unusual in this area so far.

8:41 AM: Just off the bridge – downtown assignment this morning. Smooth and relatively swift; 10 minutes from south of Morgan Junction all the way to the 4th Ave. offramp. Motorcycle officer standing guard at the gore point by the offramp to 99.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! No major commute problems on the routes through/from West Seattle so far.

7:11 AM: From the 911 log/scanner, a crash at West Marginal Way S./Holden, blocking northbound lanes by the interchange onto 99 as it heads for the 1st Ave. S. Bridge.

7:27 AM: Update, blocking one lane. Meantime, scanner mentions a crash at 11th/Spokane, which would be by the low bridge, but the traffic camera there isn’t working (one of the bridge cameras also is out of service, as you might have noticed above); no SFD dispatch.

7:40 AM: From scanner, Delridge/Juneau traffic signal is “stuck in yellow”; police tried to fix but are going to have to call out SDOT, and traffic is backing up as a result.

9:45 AM: Just back from checking Delridge/Juneau – signal is working now, SDOT was still there, as we tweeted:

We also noted via Twitter that just south of the STEM/Arbor Heights school zone, one of SPD’s Aggressive Driving Response Team vehicles had pulled someone over.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! As we start today’s traffic watch, a request for collaboration:

SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL? TELL THE CITY! As someone pointed out via e-mail, the West Seattle section of this new SDOT map, intended for crowdsourcing/visualizing your Safe Routes to School ideas, is a little bare. Someplace you would like to see a safety improvement? Use the map, as explained here, ASAP!

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Nothing unusual on the routes we watch in/from West Seattle, so far.

TODAY’S BIG TRANSPORTATION STORY … is likely to be the City Council briefings from WSDOT and SDOT this morning, on the “settling” in the Viaduct vicinity and on plans in case it has to be closed. The meeting starts at 9:30 am (here’s the agenda) and will be live on Seattle Channel (online and cable).

Reminder that southbound 35th SW will be closed for at least part of the day south of Avalon, as crews finish the tower-crane installation work at the 4435 35th SW mixed-use project. Here’s the Metro reroute info for the C Line, 21, and 50. One northbound lane has been closed, too; here’s our Saturday coverage – we’ll be checking in again today.

10 AM: Just went by – road is fully open again, crane complete.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
No major problems lingering in West Seattle from last night’s wind, and nothing major on the routes through/from here either, so far.

WEEKEND ALERT FOR 35TH SW: One more reminder that you’ll want to avoid 35th SW between Avalon and Alaska tomorrow and at least part of Sunday – the road is scheduled to be closed for tower-crane installation. From the contractor:

We are approved by the City of Seattle to close all 4 lanes on 35th AVE SW adjacent our jobsite (4435 35th Ave) to erect our tower crane. The plan is to roll on site at 5:30 am Saturday with our mobile crane so we can start work by 8:00 am. Weather permitting, we’ll have the crane put together on Saturday and come back Sunday to remove our mobile crane. Though we are permitted to work until 10 PM with the lane closures, we are confident (weather permitting) we will be out of there by noon. Again, we apologize in advance for any inconveniences this may cause to your weekend commutes.

This means Saturday/Sunday reroutes for Metro Route 21, Route 50, and RapidRide C Line – details here.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Stormy weather forecast later, but it’s calm right now, with nothing out of the ordinary on routes through/from West Seattle.

WEEKEND TRAFFIC ALERT: Tower-crane installation for 4435 35th SW will affect travel on 35th between Avalon and Alaska both days this weekend.

7:41 AM: Just dispatched – crash reported as eastbound high bridge to northbound 99. Two-vehicle crash, per scanner. See top left bridge cam.

7:54 AM: From the camera view, looks like buses are making it around too.

8:22 AM: The camera shows the scene on the ramp is now clear – police were the last emergency vehicle(s) in view until just a couple moments ago.

TRANSPORTATION HEADLINES: Published here since Wednesday’s roundup:
*City’s traffic-management center expanding hours; Highway 99 crash closure reviewed
*WSTC meeting report #1: Early warning of “low bridge” closures?
*WSTC meeting report #2: Speed up RapidRide? Yes. Reroute in The Junction? No.

P.S. And in Viaduct-related news elsewhere, Publicola has published what it says is a WSDOT map showing the extent of the settling.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Relatively calm weather right now – which is expected to change later – and nothing out of the ordinary reported on the roads/paths in our area, so far.

TRANSPORTATION NEWS: In the latest update on the Viaduct/tunnel project and concerns about “settling,” WSDOT reported that the tunnel contractor was expected to dig a few more feet – probably until sometime today – before stopping to evaluate and decide what to do next. … Lots of info at last night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting (as you know if you follow WSB on Twitter) – watch for full reports later today …

7:34 AM: The “low bridge” is closed, SDOT has tweeted (you can check the lower-right image above to see when it reopens). Progress toward earlier warning of impending closures is part of what emerged at last night’s WSTC meeting – right now, SDOT basically can only tweet when the opening (for marine traffic) is happening.

REMINDER – FINAL DAY OF BIG POUR: Watch out for big truck traffic again today headed to and from the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Project at Lowman Beach. We checked with King County Wastewater Treatment’s Doug Marsano late Tuesday and he confirmed the pour would wrap up today.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! We start with the usual camera views, and alerts/notes:

TRUCK ALERT: Today is scheduled to be the second of three days for the big concrete pour at the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Project pit by Lowman Beach, which means up to 20 trucks an hour – here’s our coverage of day 1 last Friday.

SPEAKING OF PITS: Here’s our as-it-happened coverage of the City Council‘s meeting with WSDOT about the “settling” Viaduct and vicinity (pre-scheduled meeting, but Friday’s disclosures switched the focus). Bottom line, the state insists it’s safe, but wouldn’t specify any sort of quantification regarding what would constitute “unsafe.” Later in the day, the Viaduct website added this brief summary.

WEST SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION COALITION TONIGHT: The Viaduct’s not officially on the agenda for tonight’s meeting (6:30 pm, Neighborhood House’s High Point Center) but we suspect it’ll come up. The two scheduled topics are detailed on the WSTC website – emergency access, and the proposed RapidRide route change in The Junction (last discussed at November’s SW District Council meeting).

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Heading into the peak period of the commute from here, and nothing unusual to report right now. No rain, but it’s expected back by tomorrow.

TRANSPORTATION NEWS: One big story has been unfolding since Friday night – involving the Highway 99 tunnel plan; first, on Friday afternoon, WSDOT disclosed an inch-plus of “settling” for the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the vicinity of the pit being dug to get to the stalled tunneling machine. Inspecting/surveying was done during the preplanned closure early Sunday, and then last night WSDOT said the contractor would stop digging and dewatering the pit, for now. We expect to hear more as the day goes on; the City Council’s Viaduct committee already had a meeting scheduled for 2:30 pm.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:15 AM: Again this morning, we head into the heart of the commute without anything unusual in or from West Seattle.

VIADUCT CLOSURE SATURDAY NIGHT: WSDOT updated the plan to BOTH directions from 11:59 pm Saturday night until about 5 am Sunday.

CITYWIDE WEEKEND ALERTS: Here’s the SDOT roundup of what’s happening tonight through Sunday.

WEST SEATTLE HOLIDAY EVENTS: Check out the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide for the many, many big events this weekend, including the Junction Tree Lighting (5 pm Saturday, Junction Plaza Park at 42nd/Alaska).

7:29 AM UPDATE – BRIDGE CRASH: Thanks to the commenter on board a C Line bus for the firsthand report on why there’s an SFD response to a crash on the eastbound bridge “just before the Delridge merge.” As our commenter notes, the bus was not involved, but some on board might have seen the crash.

7:38 AM UPDATE: Commenters say another bus has stopped to help (possibly to take on some passengers) so right now TWO buses are stopped on the ramp. If you have to get on the bridge, Fauntleroy or Delridge would be better, or wait a while.

7:51 AM UPDATE: Commenter CKelly says four people on the bus have minor injuries from the sudden stop to avoid hitting the cars involved in the collision ahead. From the scanner, police called for more help to get witness statements since “about 70 people” are on the bus.

8:10 AM: Most recent tweet from SDOT:

8:21 AM: And now SDOT says, all clear:

8:37 AM: On-peninsula traffic note – City Light is continuing its pole-replacement work and will be in the California/Holden, California/Ida area of Gatewood between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm (some residents have been warned of outages) today.

9:07 AM: Also on-peninsula – scheduled start today of concrete pour with up to 20 trucks an hour at the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Control Project by Lowman Beach. We’ll be checking on its status shortly.

8:13 PM: Avoid 35th SW in the Alaska/Edmunds vicinity – a car took out a pole and hit at least one other car, and traffic is being rerouted. No major injuries reported so far. More to come.

8:28 PM UPDATE: WSB’s Katie Meyer reports that if you’re headed eastbound on Alaska, you’ll be detoured onto 36th. If you’re headed southbound on 35th, you’ll have to turn westbound onto Alaska. This reportedly is a hit-and-run that damaged at least one other vehicle, which Katie says has just been towed.

8:35 PM UPDATE: Katie reports the roads have reopened.

9 PM UPDATE: Metro has confirmed via text alert that buses are back on their regular routes.

11:05 PM UPDATE: Tipsters on Twitter reported seeing someone in handcuffs near the scene, and we’ve confirmed with police that the suspected drunk driver, a man in his 20s, was indeed arrested, and had minor injuries. Some passengers in the vehicle were reported to have fled on foot. And police confirm that after the pole was sheared off, another vehicle was hit but its occupants weren’t hurt (see this comment).

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Heading into the heart of the commute, no problems reported in or from West Seattle, so far.

TRANSPORTATION NEWS: In case you missed them, stories here from the past 24 hours: 20-trucks-an-hour concrete pour set to start tomorrow … When will Highway 99 tunneling resume? What the ‘stakeholders’ group’ was told …

8:44 AM: First problem of the morning. SDOT reports a crash on the eastbound bridge:

So far, no medical response dispatched for this, so it’s not on the 911 log.

8:53 AM: Update from SDOT – that was cleared quickly; all lanes open.

9:56 AM: Firsthand explanation from the driver whose car was rear-ended – in this comment.

3:22 PM: Last weekend, we mentioned the plan for a partial closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct this Saturday night. Now, WSDOT says it will close both ways: “The closure – which will last from Saturday, Dec. 6 at 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 – will allow crews to move heavy equipment across the roadway and conduct survey work on SR 99.”

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:02 AM: Good morning! Freezing (or just below) temps out there again today, but it’s going to start warming up. No trouble reported in our area so far.

8:34 AM: Had trouble with an ORCA card reader this morning? Jeremy and Colleen did (see Twitter exchanges below), and Metro says it’ll check that out:

9:04 AM: Thanks to Flint for sharing this video of the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry, time-lapsed to a minute and a half:

This was recorded in the Monday sunshine.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:57 AM: Good morning. It’s a cold post-Thanksgiving-weekend Monday morning – below freezing, so be careful of icy spots that might be lingering from the weekend, including sidewalks and planting strips as well as some roadsides that have been in the shade. (If you were out of town – in review, we had an inch-plus of rain Friday, followed by a temperature drop and about half an inch of snow Saturday morning, though the north-wind-fueled Alki surf eclipsed it visually.) No major problems in or from West Seattle, so far.

7:56 AM: Of note, the “low bridge” has opened for vessel traffic twice in the past 40 minutes, as logged via @SDOTbridges.

(WSB photo by Tracy Record)
6:14 PM: Westbound Roxbury is closed between 15th and 16th SW (map) after a hit-run crash that sent a woman to the hospital. Police told us at the scene that she was in the crosswalk when hit by what witnesses describe as a blue SUV. The road closure will last a while, since the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad has been called in. We don’t yet know the victim’s condition or age; the initial callout was on the 911 log as a simple medic response, but readers (thank you) alerted us to a major police presence and crime tape across the road, so we went over to find out what had happened. If you have any information about this crash, please call 911.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
8:15 PM: That section of road was still closed when we went back over about 15 minutes ago; TCIS is on scene doing its work. At this point we might not be able to get any more information until tomorrow; we’ll add an update when the road reopens tonight.

9:22 PM: Police have just announced (as monitored via scanner) that the road is open again.

MONDAY 10:58 AM UPDATE: We’re following up today with SPD and SFD. We’ve heard back from the latter, with spokesperson Kyle Moore telling us the woman is 35 years old and was in stable condition when taken to the hospital, where she was to be checked for possible serious internal injuries. (That’s all the information we will get about her without knowing her name, so if anyone reading this knows how she is doing, please consider either commenting, or e-mailing us at editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you.)

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy day before Thanksgiving! We start with another reminder about holiday transit schedules:

*Metro will be on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving Day and a “reduced weekday/no UW” schedule on Friday.

*The Water Taxi does NOT run on Thursday *or* Friday.

*Sound Transit‘s express bus serving our area (560) will be on a Sunday schedule for Thanksgiving Day, normal schedule for Friday.

*Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run will keep a normal schedule. WSF reminds you that lines will be longest in the westbound direction this afternoon/evening. For Fauntleroy, all the space/wait info, plus dock-area cameras, can be found here.

CITYWIDE ALERT FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND: If you’re not leaving town, you still might need to know times/places for parades, runs, etc., and that’s all in the SDOT alert.