West Seattle, Washington
05 Friday
5:25 AM: A fire response on the county side is reportedly backing up traffic on eastbound Roxbury in the 24th-26th vicinity and affecting westbound to some degree as well. We are en route to check.
5:46 AM: Just back from the scene. A vacant home (photo above) caught fire on the south side of Roxbury, east of 26th. No one inside, no injuries, according to the North Highline Fire Department. No flames but still smoke, an hour or so after the first report. They don’t know yet what caused it, nor the full extent of the damage – we’ll check back later after it’s light. (P.S. If you’re hearing a helicopter – it’s TV, checking out the fire scene/traffic backup.)
7:17 AM UPDATE: Just back from re-checking the scene. Westbound Roxbury is now fully open; eastbound still is tied up at 25th with fire/sheriff’s vehicles. Investigators are checking the house:
We’ll check again on eastbound Roxbury after 8 am.
8:59 AM: Fully open again. Also, there’s now a sign on the house, including the word ARSON – we are checking with investigators.
11:43 AM: Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff’s Office confirms their investigators ruled it arson: “It does appear to be an intentionally set fire that started in the basement.As you probably saw from the sign on the house there is a reward for information leading to an arrest.”
(Click image for full-size PDF map of this weekend’s detour)
As first reported here last Friday, the Delridge repaving project is scheduled to shut down the Delridge/Trenton intersection both ways this weekend. Here’s the reminder just sent by SDOT, plus detour info:
The intersection at Delridge Way Southwest and Southwest Trenton Street will be closed this weekend from 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15 until 6 a.m. Monday, Feb. 18 as part of the Delridge Way paving project.
Seattle Department of Transportation is in the first phase rebuilding much of Delridge Way Southwest between Southwest Orchard and Southwest Roxbury streets. To reduce impacts to the community, intersection construction is taking place on weekends, working around the clock.
Traffic this weekend will be detoured as follows, with local access maintained (see the attached map):
· Northbound Delridge Way SW to SW Barton Place/Street to 35th Avenue SW to SW Thistle Street to Delridge Way SW
· Southbound Delridge Way SW to SW Thistle Street to 35th Avenue SW to SW Barton Street/Place to Delridge Way SW
· Westbound SW Trenton Street to 16th Avenue SW to SW Henderson Street to SW Barton Place to 25th Avenue SW to SW Trenton Street
· Eastbound SW Trenton Street to 25th Avenue SW to SW Barton Place to SW Henderson Street to 16th Avenue SW to SW Trenton Street
To expedite construction, evening work, including pavement removal using impact breakers, may be performed until 10 p.m. under the conditions of a noise variance.
Reminder: For traffic safety, the intersection of 25th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Barton Street is temporarily a four-way stop.
This is a five-phase project. At the completion of the first phase, between Southwest Henderson and Southwest Trenton streets, the construction activity will move to the section of Delridge Way Southwest between Southwest Trenton and Southwest Thistle streets. Please visit the project website for more information.
P.S. The Delridge-Henderson intersection reopened early last weekend, unannounced, but project spokesperson LeAnne Nelson promises that if there’s an early reopening this weekend, they WILL get the word out.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Tuesday! We begin with the West Seattle Bridge and Highway 99 camera views …
Again today, no major scheduled work, but remember that this weekend has two closures of note.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:03 AM: Happy Monday! We start with our West Seattle Bridge and Highway 99 camera views …
It’s a short week for Seattle Public Schools and anyone following the same calendar – half-day on Thursday, then Friday and the following Monday off. And two traffic alerts are coming up for next weekend – here’s the story we published last week.
8:59 AM: Just announced by Washington State Ferries, the Tahlequah-Point Defiance run between South Vashon and Tacoma is out of service TFN – which could mean extra traffic for Fauntleroy-Vashon. In case this continues all day, here’s the Fauntleroy-Cloverdale traffic cam which shows a vehicle backup from the West Seattle terminal IF one is in progress:
Updates as we get them.
9:27 AM: Short-lived outage – WSF says the Salish is back in service, so south Vashon has a ferry again.
One more advance traffic alert – this one two weeks away, involving the so-called Timber Bridge project on Highway 99 south of the West Seattle Bridge. We first told you about this impending work back in November, and more recently shared WSDOT’s announcement that work would begin on February 25th. We now have details on a weekend closure immediately preceding that, to reorganize traffic on the structure to make way for the crews, and to move underground utility pipes out of the way, as described by WSDOT’s Broch Bender, followed by details of the changes that then will be in effect during the project:
During the weekend of Feb. 22-25, the project will relocate a waterline under the existing timber structure and shift traffic to the west half of the bridge (where the southbound lanes are today). All traffic on SR 99 over S. Spokane Street will be shifted to the west to allow crews room to safely demolish the timber overpass and replace it with a new, concrete supported structure.
Closure details:
· 10 pm Friday, Feb. 22 to 5 am Monday, Feb. 25 – Both directions of SR 99 between the West Seattle Bridge and S. Nevada Street will be closed around the clock.
o Southbound SR 99 will be closed from the Battery Street Tunnel to S. Nevada Street, traffic will be detoured off the highway at Denny Way.
o Northbound SR 99 will be off-limits to drivers between S. Nevada Street and the West Seattle Bridge. South of Diagonal Street, traffic will be detoured to First Avenue S. North of Diagonal Street, signs will direct drivers off of SR 99 at the West Seattle/S. Spokane St./East Marginal Way S. exit.
Then on Monday, February 25th, after the closures, here’s how the traffic flow will work:
·Southbound traffic: South of the West Seattle/Harbor Island exit, southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane between the West Seattle Bridge and S. Nevada Street.
Northbound traffic: Two lanes of northbound traffic between S. Nevada Street and the West Seattle Bridge will be shifted to the west. The third lane remains the drop-lane for the northbound exit to West Seattle and East Marginal Way S.
· Slower speeds: A temporary speed limit reduction to 40 MPH in both directions of SR 99 will be extended south of the Alaskan Way Viaduct through the construction zone to approximately S. Idaho Street.
A map showing all that – as requested at the South Portal Working Group meeting earlier this week – should be available by tonight, and we’ll add it to the story when it is. The project is expected to last into June of next year, as crews demolish and rebuild the overpass one half at a time; once the east half is complete, it’ll handle traffic so work can commence on the west half.
A closure-alert sign sparked a question in today’s traffic/transit tracker, which led us to find a couple of major closures scheduled NEXT weekend that you might want to know about before official reminders circulate, especially considering it’ll be a holiday weekend and the closures will therefore last an extra day:
EASTBOUND SPOKANE STREET VIADUCT: The I-5/Spokane Street Interchange Special Bridge Repair project resumes its closures next weekend, and as part of that, from Friday night 2/15 through Tuesday morning 2/19, the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed at the 4th Avenue South exit – which is where everyone will have to exit. (On the surface, the ramp from Spokane St. to eastbound I-5 and Columbian Way will be closed, too.)
DELRIDGE/TRENTON INTERSECTION: According to the weekly SDOT “lookahead,” President’s Day weekend is also when the Delridge Repaving Project will close another intersection for the entire weekend – this time, it’ll be Delridge/Trenton. Again, that’s NEXT weekend; THIS weekend’s closure is Delridge/Henderson.
These closures and many others for the greater Seattle area are listed on the weekly “construction lookahead” updated by SDOT here.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Friday! Nothing unusual as the commute begins …
But tonight’s the night the Delridge/Henderson intersection closure begins; here’s the detour map. According to the project’s official webpage, the closure is scheduled to start at 7 tonight and end no later than 6 am Monday.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Another routine start to the day’s commute …
If you use Metro, take note that the service-change information for February 16th is now public, as reported here on Wednesday. And yet another reminder: Friday night till Monday morning, the Delridge/Henderson intersection closes all weekend so it can be repaved.
8:49 AM: As noted in comments, trouble on eastbound Spokane Street (surface) – believed to be a “stuck train.” There are no traffic alerts regarding trains so eyewitness info is all we will get on that.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Above and below, a look at our two key commuter paths – the bridge and Highway 99 …
… and within West Seattle, there’s one traffic alert for today, and beyond, sent late Tuesday by SDOT:
Due to the high degree of maintenance needed by the rubberized speed cushions on SW Dawson near 18th Ave SW (map), SDOT will reconstruct these speed cushions in asphalt. The speed cushions were constructed with three other sets some time ago through a Neighborhood Street Fund grant. The community had documented relatively high speeds; 15% of the vehicles were traveling over 35 mph. Speeds slowed significantly as a result of this project.
SDOT will remove the rubber speed cushions on SW Dawson and cover the warning signs. The speed cushions will then be rebuilt in asphalt and the signs uncovered. The rubber speed cushions may be removed as early as this week. As asphalt is somewhat weather dependent, there may be some lag before the cushions are rebuilt.
And in case you missed this when we published it late Tuesday – here’s the detour map/plan for this weekend’s total shutdown of the Delridge/Henderson intersection.
10:48 PM: A crash in the westbound lanes of the West Seattle Bridge is affecting the eastbound side too, according to James, who just called with a report: He says the jersey barrier has been pushed into the eastbound lanes. At least one vehicle is reported to have hit the barrier. And per the scanner, westbound traffic will be diverted onto Admiral. More as we get it.
11:51 PM: Still diverting traffic westbound at last report; we’ll update if/when we hear it’s open again. No details on crash cause or injuries.
3:22 AM: The bridge is now clear, per Valvashon in the comment section. We’ll follow up with SFD later this morning regarding injuries/hospital transport.
(Click image to get fullsize PDF showing detours and entire project zone)
That map shows the northbound and southbound detours planned this weekend while the intersection of Delridge and Henderson is completely closed as part of the Delridge repaving project’s first phase. Here’s an update/reminder from SDOT’s LeAnne Nelson:
rews will remove and restore pavement at SW Henderson St and Delridge Way SW, closing most of the intersection. Weather permitting, work begins Friday, February 8, at 7:00 p.m. Crews expect to have the work completed and the intersection reopened by 6:00 a.m. Monday, February 11, at the latest. To reduce impacts to the community, intersection construction is being done on weekends, working around the clock. Traffic will be detoured as follows:
· Northbound Delridge Way SW directed onto 16th Avenue SW to SW Henderson Street to Delridge Way SW
· Westbound SW Henderson onto Delridge Way SW to SW Trenton to 25th Avenue SW to SW Barton Street
· Southbound Delridge Way SW onto SW Trenton to 25th Avenue SW to SW Barton Place to Delridge Way SW
· Eastbound SW Barton Place onto Delridge Way SW to 17th Avenue SW to SW Roxbury Street to 16th Avenue SW to SW Henderson Street
NOTE: Evening construction, including pavement removal using impact breakers, may be performed until 10:00 p.m. under the conditions of a noise variance, to expedite construction.
—
Reminder: The intersection of 25th Avenue SW and SW Barton Street is temporarily a 4-way stop, during Phase 1, to assist safe traffic flow. King County Metro will communicate changes directly to ridership.
This is a five-phase project. At the completion of Phase 1 the construction activity will move to the Phase 2 section of Delridge Way SW – between SW Trenton and SW Thistle streets.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:03 AM: No scheduled traffic alerts for today (but we’ll remind you again, the Delridge/Henderson intersection will be completely closed all weekend, Friday night till Monday morning – here’s a cool SDOT picture from the project page, showing the installation of new drainage pipes:
Meantime, we’re adding a Highway 99 cam to the basic template for this daily feature, since that’s a frequent trouble spot:
If you encounter traffic/transit/transportation trouble – in West Seattle or on the major routes in/out – let us know, provided you can do so safely/legally – 206-293-6302 is our number for text or voice.
P.S. The issue of Metro funding is back on the front burner, now that it’s warning the “Viaduct mitigation” money won’t last much longer and big cuts could be ahead. Here’s how Metro’s GM explains it; here’s a story from our partners at The Seattle Times.
9:23 AM UPDATE: Traffic alert from JL in comments – “Northbound 35th at Alaska – right lane closed for traffic light maintenance at 9:15 AM.”
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
As we start the week, no major traffic alerts in West Seattle, though there is one downtown, affecting those who travel on 1st Avenue South between Pike and Pine – one southbound lane all week, as crews install monitors related to the forthcoming Highway 99 tunnel project. As for the existing Highway 99/Viaduct, there is NO scheduled closure this week. But remember that when we get to Friday night, the intersection of Delridge/Henderson will be closed all weekend as part of the Delridge repaving project. Drive/ride safely!
Our tipster from the recent hit-run that took out a utility pole by 21st/Roxbury (map) reports that one westbound lane is closed there right now while it’s replaced.
SDOT warned that there would be an occasional all-weekend-long intersection closure as part of the Delridge repaving project – and they’ve just announced the first one, Delridge/Henderson, starting one week from tonight:
To reduce impacts to the community, intersection construction will be done on weekends, working around the clock. The first intersection closure is at Southwest Henderson Street from 7 pm Friday, Feb. 8, until, at the latest, 6 am on Monday, Feb. 11. Look for final detour information early next week.
To expedite construction, evening work under the conditions of a noise variance, including pavement removal using impact breakers, may be performed until 10 pm.
Reminder: for traffic safety, the intersection of 25th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Barton Street is temporarily a four-way stop.
This is a five-phase project. At the completion of the first phase, between Southwest Henderson and Southwest Trenton streets, the construction activity will move to the section of Delridge Way Southwest between Southwest Trenton and Southwest Thistle streets.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Some traffic-affecting notes as the day begins:
-No classes today for Seattle Public Schools.
-No I-5 / Spokane St. Intersection Bridge Repair closures this weekend.
-If you use the Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington, note that it has a closure this weekend – 11 pm tonight till 5 am Sunday.
-As of late last night, the southbound 35th SW sinkhole near SW Juneau was still blocked off (we’re asking today about repair ETA).
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Two alerts: this week’s final night of the southbound 99 closure, 10 pm-5 am, and the blocked inside lane of southbound 35th near Juneau because of a sinkhole (we’ll check on repair plans today).
Thanks to SDOT for heads-up on a sinkhole – what they call a “void” – in the left southbound lane of 35th near Juneau.
As shown in our top photo, it’s blocked off while awaiting repairs.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to Wednesday! We’ll see how the day unfolds. Then tonight, same traffic alert as the past two nights – a 10 pm-5 am closure of southbound 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge.
6:32 PM: Thanks to the WSB’er who texted about the 1st Avenue South Bridge having a stuck-open drawspan on the SOUTHBOUND side, with major backups ensuing; WSDOT confirms this and says crews are working to fix it. Refresh this page for the latest “live” view above, showing the drawspan still “up” as we write this.
7:31 PM UPDATE: As of about 10 minutes ago, the southbound span is back to normal, and traffic is moving.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:32 AM: Rainy but otherwise no trouble as the morning commute gets going. Same traffic alert for tonight as last night – another 10 pm-5 am closure of southbound 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge (Wednesday and Thursday nights too).
7:04 AM: If you use the 1st Avenue South Bridge, this note from WSDOT via Twitter: “On SR 509 northbound just south of SR 99, there is a collision blocking the left center lane.”
6:35 PM: As also noted in a separate story, there’s a problem with the southbound 1st Avenue South Bridge:
Its drawspan is stuck in the open position. WSDOT says crews are working to fix it.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
5:58 AM: As we start a new week, there’s just one traffic alert for scheduled work: One more week with southbound 99 closed from Battery St. Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 10 pm-5 am tonight and each of the next three nights, for SODO overpass work.
7:25 AM: Multiple reports of a crash or stall on northbound 99 in the stadium zone – JayDee says it’s by Royal Brougham. Commenters say it’s a major backup – avoid 99.
7:43 AM: WSDOT just tweeted that the problem’s been cleared. Backup may take a while longer, though.
7:51 AM: Metro has just sent a text advisory:
Due to high volumes of traffic this morning, expect delays in transit service to downtown Seattle.
(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
And our daily traffic/transit tracker is off and running – let us know if you encounter any trouble (OR anything terrific!) out there.
Road-work notes: NO ramp closures this weekend as part of the I-5/Spokane Interchange Bridge Repair. But there is one overnight ramp closure this weekend, on Saturday night – 11 pm to 5 am, the northbound I-5 offramp to West Seattle and 6th Ave S will be closed overnight.
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