7:07 PM: Thanks to the texter who just sent word that the “low bridge” has been closed to traffic for about 40 minutes. Checking SDOT via Twitter, they report it’s “closed due to some gate issues” and that it should be fixed soon. Updates as we get them.

10:25 PM: No official SDOT updates since then; we’ve been watching this traffic camera and haven’t seen a vehicle cross.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to July 2014! Forecast temperatures near 90 are the big news today. Traffic-wise, so far, the nearest trouble is south of our area; nothing on the major routes through/from West Seattle and vicinity.

4TH OF JULY: Planning ahead for Friday? Transit changes for the holiday are all listed already on our special West Seattle 4th of July page (as well as West Seattle events/activities for the day). If you have something to add, please let us know, as we’ll be updating all the way up until the holiday – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to the last day of the month and the first day of a pre-holiday week, with the 4th of July coming up on Friday. No traffic trouble so far; we’ll update if anything happens.

TRANSPORTATION NEWS: As of 6 am, as promised, the new South Park Bridge is in service, though it’s one (vehicle) lane each way for the first week or so while finishing touches continue … From the “in case you missed it” file, you’re invited to suggest names for the new King County Water Taxi boats … and this open letter calls for the city to get moving on a bicycle-parking “corral” for The Junction.

8:05 AM: Some northbound I-5 trouble downtown:

We’ve had two reports in the past few minutes of stoplight trouble at 35th and Avalon – on our way to check it out, but if you’re about to head out, you might consider avoiding it for now.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
No major problems to report outbound right now (a Battery St. Tunnel closure following a one-car crash cleared relatively quickly near the top of the hour) – but if you are headed toward West Seattle, southbound I-5 has had some backups, most recently with a crash by the downtown Convention Center.

Quick weekend reminders – California/Fauntleroy intersection is set for repaving 7 am-7 pm Saturday (with extensive no-parking zones on surrounding blocks); 2 lanes of NB I-5 at the West Seattle Bridge will close all weekend (as will the 520 bridge); Alki will be busy tomorrow with the Seafair Pirates Landing (no road closures, but big crowd). And on Sunday, two notable events outside (but not far from) WS – the Pride Parade downtown at 11 am (here’s the route) and the South Park Bridge celebration at noon (the bridge itself opens for vehicle/pedestrian use 6 am Monday).

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Another no-news-is-relatively-good-news commute so far. The weekend reminders:

CALIFORNIA/FAUNTLEROY WORK: 7 am-7 pm Saturday, paving at this major intersection.

NORTHBOUND I-5 LANE CLOSURES + 520 CLOSURE ALL WEEKEND: Here’s the warning from SDOT.

SEAFAIR PIRATES’ LANDING: This happens on Alki at midday Saturday. No road closures but some parking will be taken by related vehicles in the Bathhouse vicinity, and the beach will overall be very busy.

NEW SOUTH PARK BRIDGE: Street party on Sunday, starting at noon, going into the evening, on 14th north of Cloverdale. The bridge itself opens to traffic next Monday morning at 6 am, and that will change Metro routing too, as explained here.

11:58 AM NOTE: Route 773, the Water Taxi shuttle, is having issues right now. In an unrelated case, so is the state ferry M/V Issaquah, which means the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth WSF route is on the two-boat schedule right now.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
So far, nothing out of the ordinary on the major routes through and from West Seattle. Looking ahead, now that the weekend is in sight:

CALIFORNIA/FAUNTLEROY WORK SATURDAY: 7 am-7 pm, paving at this major intersection, as announced just yesterday.

NORTHBOUND I-5 LANE CLOSURES + 520 CLOSURE ALL WEEKEND: WSDOT sent this reminder.

AND LOOKING WAY AHEAD … we reported on Tuesday that WSDOT’s big repair closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is set for the weekend of August 23rd.

Just saw a signboard for this on Fauntleroy Way – and now SDOT‘s sent the alert:

On Saturday, June 28, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will be working in the intersection of California Avenue SW and Fauntleroy Way SW. During the work hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the SDOT crew will grind down the surface layer and repave the street. The sidewalks will not be impacted and two crosswalks will remain open at all times. Police Officers will assist pedestrians and re-direct vehicle traffic around the work zone. This project is weather-sensitive.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! On with the commute. And a nudge:

SOUND TRANSIT SURVEY: It’s been a week and a half since we last shared this but we’re reminded it’s still open and it’s important to let your feelings about potential West Seattle light rail, in particular, be known. Find the survey in our original story – and take it soon as you can, if you haven’t already!

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
The weekend road work is over and it’s on with the first week of summer!

WHAT’S NEXT: According to WSDOT, two lanes will close next weekend on Northbound I-5 at the West Seattle Bridge, late Friday night to early Monday morning (June 30th), as the expansion-joint project continues.

7:48 PM: There’s an emergency response on southbound I-5 just before the West Seattle Bridge exit. Two people have texted saying it appeared to involve someone on foot or who fell/got out of a vehicle. That’s all we have for now; if you have to head this way, use another route TFN.

9:34 PM: The scene is cleared, according to this tweet from a State Patrol spokesperson:

All lanes open Southbound I-5 near W Seattle bridge. Man reported to have fallen out of moving vehicle was transported to hospital. KB

— Trooper Chris Webb (@wspd2pio) June 21, 2014

SIDE NOTE: Not related but while we are talking about traffic – remember that Northbound 99 closes for the weekend at 10 pm, with lane realignment and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon happening during the closure.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Friday! Our commute watch is under way. First, a reminder:

NORTHBOUND 99 WEEKEND CLOSURE: 10 pm tonight until 5 am Monday morning, Northbound 99 will be closed between the West Seattle Bridge and the north end of downtown so WSDOT can continue re-aligning the roadway west of the stadiums, as explained here. The closure also covers the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon, which will be used by other roads around the city – (full list here).

(TOPLINE: ‘Low bridge’ reopened just after 7:30 pm; ‘malfunction’ had closed it since just after 5 pm)

5:29 PM: Thanks to commenters on our daily traffic-watch story for first word on this around 5:15 pm – SDOT confirms that the “low bridge” is currently malfunctioning and closed to vehicle/pedestrian traffic. We’ve added a “live” picture from SDOT’s traffic cams – you can see the bicycle riders/pedestrians waiting, and it looks like there’s a relatively slight gap in the bridge.

ADDED 5:50 PM: Still out of service, no update from SDOT. Jason shared the photo we’ve added above, showing bicycle riders who were waiting before it was apparent this situation wasn’t ending quickly.

6:35 PM: We talked with an SDOT rep who said a mechanic has headed to the bridge but they don’t have an ETA yet – they’re promising updates.

(Some of the bikes on the 5:45 Water Taxi; photo by Brian O’Mara)
Meantime, your editor here just took the Water Taxi home from downtown; at least a few bicycle riders had diverted upon hearing about the bridge, but there was still room on the run – 6:45 pm is the last scheduled run from downtown to West Seattle.

7:37 PM: SDOT has just reopened the bridge after the 2 1/2-hour closure. While running electrical tests this past hour or so, they allowed bicycle riders and pedestrians through a few times, we’re told.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
So far, no news is good news – no trouble reported in or outbound from West Seattle.

REMINDER – NORTHBOUND 99 WEEKEND CLOSURE: Now that the weekend is back in view, time to rev up the reminding again. From 10 pm Friday night (June 20th) until early Monday morning, Northbound 99 will be closed between the West Seattle Bridge and north end of downtown as WSDOT continues re-aligning the roadway west of the stadiums, as explained here. This will coincide on Saturday 6/21 with northbound 99 – and other roads – being used for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon (which has many other closures – see the full list here).

7:58 PM NOTE: The low-bridge problem from earlier (covered in a separate story) is fixed, and the bridge is back to regular operations, after a 2 1/2-hour shutdown.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:20 AM: We start with a problem that we’re told has the 1st Avenue South offramp from the bridge closed currently – Seattle Fire is investigating a reported natural-gas leak. Spokane Street is closed on the surface in the area, too:

Natural gas line leak 55 S Spokane St. Building evacuated. S Spokane St closed between 1st Av to E 'Marginal Wy.

— Seattle Fire Dept (@SeattleFire) June 17, 2014

One of WSDOT’s cameras shows the offramp blocked on the westbound side of the bridge:

Our IRT is helping block the ramp from WB West Seattle Bridge to 1st Ave. due to possible gas leak. pic.twitter.com/IbHtJvOCqu

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) June 17, 2014

6:42 AM: We have now confirmed the 1st Avenue South offramps are closed from BOTH sides of the bridge – eastbound AND westbound.

6:51 AM: WSDOT reports the westbound offramp has reopened. Eastbound ramp to 1st S. still closed.

7:29 AM: SFD says the eastbound ramp is reopening.

Meantime:

TRANSPORTATION NEWS: ICYMI, the tunnel-machine repair plan, animation and all, is now public. And there’s another Sound Transit survey to take!

P.S. Looking for the travel times you see on the city’s lighted signboards? They’re also on the right side of the SDOT Travelers’ Information Map, always findable from the link atop the WSB Traffic page.

****

5:12 PM: There’s a crash/police situation at the north end of the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge, right before East Marginal, and a big backup reported on 509 as a result. They’re calling for tows.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to the second half of June! A few notes as the day begins:

FERRIES ON SUMMER SCHEDULE: The Washington State Ferries summer schedule started Sunday; doublecheck your ferry schedule here.

ADMIRAL WAY BRIDGE WORK SCHEDULED TO START: For most of the next two weeks, repair work on the bridge over Fairmount Ravine will close a lane on Admiral Way above, as warned here.

7:12 PM NOTE: For anyone stuck in a backup north of downtown and wondering what’s up – all lanes of southbound I-5 are closed at the Ship Canal Bridge because of an investigation that is reported to be related to a shooting involving a State Patrol trooper. No other details but citywide media is getting onto this – just wanted to make note of it here.

Looking at the week ahead – two early reminders:

ADMIRAL WAY BRIDGE WORK STARTS TOMORROW: As noted here last week, SDOT says it’ll be closing the outside westbound lane of the Admiral Way Bridge 9 am-3 pm daily for about two weeks starting tomorrow.

NORTHBOUND 99 CLOSURE NEXT WEEKEND, FOR TWO REASONS: Remember last weekend’s southbound 99 closure? Next weekend – from late Friday night 6/20 until early Monday morning 6/23 – the northbound direction will be closed. Same reason – WSDOT is re-aligning the roadway west of the stadiums, as explained here. This will coincide on Saturday 6/21 with northbound 99 use – and other roads – for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon (which has many other road closures – see the full list here).

P.S. We include road-work alerts in the daily “Traffic/Transit Today” update you’ll find atop the WSB home page every weekday morning. (Sometimes there’s unannounced work, and we appreciate your tips when you spot it!)

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Soggy weather so far this Friday morning, and some trouble so far, particularly on I-5, most recently a collision on the northbound side in the Seneca St. area, so give yourself extra commute time today.

No major road work is planned this weekend, by the way, but some major events in other neighborhoods might affect traffic – here’s the citywide weekend preview from SDOT. (Lots of graduations on that list, but the two big ones here aren’t mentioned, both Saturday at Southwest Athletic Complex, 2801 SW Thistle – WSHS at 2 pm, Sealth at 7 pm.)

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: Today’s the day at more local independent schools, including Holy Rosary.

FERRY SCHEDULE CHANGES SUNDAY: June 15th is the start of the summer schedule, including more weekend service for Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth.

9:34 AM: If you’re headed this way instead of away from WS – note that there is a rollover crash reported on southbound I-5 in the vicinity of the West Seattle Bridge exit – just south of it, according to scanner traffic.

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:10 AM: No incidents reported in or on the major routes from West Seattle so far. In the road-work department, this is the final announced day of SDOT “seasonal maintenance of landscaping under the (low bridge) along the bike trail. Bicyclists will be required to dismount and walk through areas where the crews are working.”

10:28 AM: The eastbound bridge has been backed up, per several tipsters, and Lindsay explains via Twitter (thank you!) that a vehicle is stalled and blocking a lane under the 99 overpass.

Early warning from SDOT – this starts next Monday:

The westbound, right lane of the Admiral Way Bridge [over Fairmount Ravine] will be closed from June 16 to June 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will be using their U-bit truck (under-bridge construction truck) to make repairs to the underside of the bridge. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

The U-bit truck will be parked on the bridge deck. The truck has an arm that can bend over the side and under the bridge. There is a cab on the end of the arm to carry one or two persons, allowing them to work on the underside of the bridge.