West Seattle, Washington
28 Tuesday
SDOT says the forecast looks bad so they are postponing the Delridge-Trenton intersection repaving for the second consecutive weekend. (Last weekend, the forecast looked bad – but the weather didn’t live down to it.)
(“Live” cam looking at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; more cams here)
Here’s hoping for an uneventful commute. And here’s another reminder about the two closures coming up this weekend – Delridge/Trenton intersection, and parts of Highway 99; details here.
Never too soon to plan for the weekend ahead. First, we have the detour map for the Delridge/Trenton intersection closure, rescheduled for this coming weekend, 7 pm Friday (February 22) till 6 am Monday (February 25):
Traffic will be detoured as follows, with local access maintained (see 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 StreetEvening 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.
Second – We have clarification on the closure plan for Highway 99 this weekend, as traffic is reconfigured for the upcoming “Timber Bridge” work just south of the West Seattle Bridge. WSDOT’s Broch Bender tells WSB that the closure plan outlined on their website is correct:
4:30 am Saturday, Feb. 23 through 5 am Monday, Feb. 25: Southbound SR 99 will be closed between the Battery Street Tunnel and S. Nevada Street. Northbound SR 99 will be closed between S. Nevada Street and the West Seattle Bridge.
Monday morning, Feb. 25, the overpass reopens with one lane southbound and two lanes northbound. Traffic stays in this configuration through June 2014
Bender says the eastbound bridge exit to northbound 99 WILL be open.
Last but by no means least – EARLY warning: Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 is scheduled for an inspection closure all day Saturday, March 2nd. Here’s the full regional roundup of shutdowns.
(“Live” cam looking at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; more cams here)
It’s back to work and school today – Seattle Public Schools’ newly abbreviated midwinter break is over – with no road closures. However, looking ahead to this weekend, there are closures planned both for the Delridge repaving project – Friday night to Monday morning, the postponed Delridge/Trenton intersection closure – and Highway 99 (we’re doublechecking on what’s listed here).
Just drove westbound on the bridge from I-5 and verified what WSDOT says – the ramps to I-5 and Beacon Hill from the east end of the eastbound bridge are open again. Next closure for this project isn’t till 3/1-4 and will affect the ramp to southbound 5.
11:26 AM: Another water-pipe problem beneath a local road – this time, at Ferry on the north end of California SW. Thanks to Trecia and Brian (who sent the photo) for the tips on this. A crew’s been on scene for a few hours, and Brian says the road remains open: “There are traffic cones and SPU personnel diverting traffic. Folks are able to get by in both directions, although there are a few honks because it is tight.”
4:37 PM: Drove by about an hour ago and the crew’s gone; no trace but a patch in the road.
(“Live” cam looking at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; more cams here)
6 AM: We’re watching traffic more closely than usual this morning, because WSDOT’s continuing to work on the I-5 Spokane Street Interchange Special Bridge Repair project, which means:
*Eastbound West Seattle Bridge ramps to I-5 are closed
*Eastbound West Seattle Bridge ramp to Beacon Hill is closed
*You have to exit at 4th Avenue S. if you’re not exiting at NB 99 or 1st Ave. S.
*At 4th, WSDOT promises a trooper/flagger and adjusted signal timing
They’re ahead of schedule, and expecting to reopen the ramps by 3 pm today, but till then, you’ll have to detour or use alternate routes. Detours for getting to I-5 are outlined here. (Or from south West Seattle, take Highland Park Way to get to NB 99 and, at the north end of the 1st Avenue S. Bridge, take the Michigan exit to reach I-5.)
Also this morning:
*First commute since the Metro “service change” on Saturday; biggest change, Route 50 – here are full details
*No Water Taxi service because of the Presidents Day holiday
*School’s out for most (if not all); Seattle Public Schools resume classes tomorrow
We’ll add updates; yours are appreciated too (if you can comment or text/call – 206-293-6302 – legally & safely, e.g. as a passenger, or once you get to your destination). Thanks!
4:41 PM NOTE: As published in a separate update, the I-5 ramps did reopen before 3 pm. And the day has been devoid of traffic trouble.
(“Live” traffic cam for east end of WS Bridge; see more cameras @ WSB Traffic page)
WSDOT says the ramp work at the east end of the West Seattle Bridge will be done early – but not before the morning commute, so this advisory includes information you need for tomorrow morning:
The ramps from the West Seattle Bridge to Interstate 5 will open much sooner than expected, but Monday morning commuters will still need to add an extra 15 minutes to their drive.
Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation are making excellent progress and will reopen all of the ramps to I-5 from the Spokane Street Viaduct and lower Spokane Street by 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18.
The closure began on Friday, Feb. 15 and was scheduled to last until 5 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19. Crews have worked around the clock to remove and replace aging expansion joints and also jacked sections of the ramp to repair slabs of concrete.
While President’s Day is Monday, not everyone has the day off work. In anticipation of heavy traffic on the detour route, the City of Seattle has retimed the light at 4th Avenue South and a trooper from the Washington State Patrol will flag traffic during the Monday morning drive.
Until the ramps reopen, 4th Avenue S. is where you’ll have to get off the eastbound bridge if you haven’t already exited at 1st or to NB 99.
P.S. The next scheduled closure in the I-5 Spokane St. Interchange Special Bridge Repair Project is Friday night 3/1 until Monday morning 3/4 and will only affect the ramp to southbound I-5 from the east end of the bridge.
That’s the traffic cam looking eastbound on the West Seattle Bridge; no problems so far, but tomorrow might be a different story, since the ramps to I-5 and Beacon Hill will remain closed for repair work until early TUESDAY morning. This camera shows part of the work zone:
The repair work is for WSDOT’s I-5 Spokane Street Interchange Bridge Repair project, which continues into spring with periodic closures, though never the same spot twice. This weekend, if you don’t exit to northbound 99 or to 1st Avenue South, you will be diverted off the eastbound bridge at 4th Avenue South. The westbound side is NOT affected. Detours and project details are here; more traffic cameras are here.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
The Friday morning commute is off and rolling. But there’s a big closure all weekend – details below our 99 view …
The I-5 Spokane St. Interchange Bridge Repair will close the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct after the 4th Avenue S. ramp starting at 10 pm tonight, scheduled to continue until early TUESDAY morning, so you won’t be able to get to I-5 or Beacon Hill from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; detours are listed here.
Two more notes: The Delridge/Trenton intersection closure has been postponed; Seattle Public Schools are out today for their newly shortened mid-winter break; they are also off Monday.
10:09 AM UPDATE: Thanks to Ivy for the tip – a crash blocking traffic at 35th and 102nd in Arbor Heights.
Just in from SDOT’s LeAnne Nelson:
Cancelled: Intersection closure at Delridge Way SW & SW Trenton Street
Tentatively rescheduled to February 22-25Due to an inclement weather forecast, SDOT has postponed this weekend’s construction at the intersection of Delridge Way SW and SW Trenton Street. The construction scheduled for February 15-18 has been tentatively rescheduled for the following weekend, Feb. 22-25.
Reminder: During Phase 1 construction, southbound Delridge Way SW traffic is being detoured at SW Trenton Street as follows:
West on SW Trenton Street
South on 25th Avenue SW
East on SW Barton Street
South on Delridge Way SWAlso, the intersection of 25th Avenue SW and SW Barton Street is temporarily a 4-way stop to assist safe traffic flow.
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. Please visit the project website for more information:www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_delridge.htm
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:16 PM: Happy Valentine’s Day! No problems as this day begins, so here are the West Seattle Bridge and Highway 99 camera views …
Seattle Public Schools students have a half-day today, out three hours early, the start of the newly shortened mid-winter break; they are also off Friday and Monday.
And remember that this weekend has two major closures – the I-5 Spokane St. Interchange Bridge Repair and Delridge repaving projects. For the former, the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed after the 4th Avenue S. ramp, so you can’t get to I-5 or Beacon Hill from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge; detours are listed here. On Delridge, the intersection at Trenton will be closed both ways; the detour map is here. And BOTH closures are scheduled to last until TUESDAY morning, since it’s a holiday weekend.
1:47 PM UPDATE: The Delridge/Trenton weekend closure is now POSTPONED, probably until the following weekend.
Different format as we launch today’s traffic/transit tracker because we already have problems:
ROXBURY/25TH FIRE RESPONSE, TRAFFIC EFFECTS UPDATE:
6:05 AM – Crews are mopping up at the scene of the house fire we’ve been covering. Buses are being rerouted too, including RapidRide and Sound Transit 560, according to text alerts from Metro. (Update: Metro just texted at 6:32 am that Route 22 is back to normal on Roxbury. Waiting for word on other words.)
7:15 AM – Just checked back. WESTBOUND Roxbury is fine now. Eastbound still is blocked by fire/sheriff’s vehicles.
7:50 AM: Route 21, RapidRide, ST 560 also back to normal on Roxbury, per text alerts.
ONGOING: NO WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI THIS MORNING: As announced last night; service is expected to be available this afternoon, but NOT this morning.
BRIDGE CAM: In case you’re looking for it:
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
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.
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