Home › Forums › Open Discussion › What is the deal with all the Semis?
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January 15, 2015 at 7:35 pm #816529
J242ParticipantSo yesterday, traffic was backed up all the way to the I-90 West to I-5 off ramp and the west bound bridge’s far right lane was nothing but semis as far as the eye could see to get to Harbor Island. This was at roughly 1pm.
This morning at 7am, semis were backed up at the harbor island/East Marginal exit with no movement for 10 minutes.
What is going on with all of these semis all of a sudden? I’ve never seen so many backed up in all of the 13+ years I’ve lived in West Seattle.
January 15, 2015 at 8:31 pm #820894
wakefloodParticipantGood question. I’ve been out of the news loop for a few days – did they resolve the longshoreman stoppage? Did all those container ships come in? If not, no idea…
January 15, 2015 at 8:46 pm #820895
skeeterParticipantJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:39 pm #820896
J242ParticipantThanks skeeter.
I don’t know enough about the union’s demands to form an opinion on if their actions are justified or not, all I know is it is a major pain in the butt right now and I hope it gets resolved soon.
January 15, 2015 at 10:00 pm #820897
happy hourParticipantOMG. I have never seen anything close. Armageddon professes. Miles and miles. 1-90 Sodo. I’ve taken. Half doz shortcuts. Everywhere is jammed. I hate to think of parents that need to get back to WS to pick up their kids. ‘Hours before I sleep’. I wonder how many thousands of big rigs are out here
January 16, 2015 at 12:17 am #820898
J242Participant@Happy Hour, indeed. The route I’ve found is to take the lower bridge in the AM heading east then hop onto the overhead bridge right before the 99 exit, take the 1st Ave exit then hang a left to get onto E Marginal Way then ride that up to the stadiums and jump on 90 East-bound.
On the way back I take I-5 North, 1st exit for James, then hook over to Columbia and take the Viaduct out to the WSB.
Shhhh, don’t share my secret route too much or it’ll get clogged with traffic in no time! ;)
January 16, 2015 at 2:27 am #820899
WSBKeymasterExtensive coverage in the news section, including what’s being done to try to avert Day 3:
January 16, 2015 at 4:00 am #820900
J242ParticipantThanks WSB! Any info on the list of demands or complaints from the union? The only link I could find in the article requires a subscription, which I’m not fond of, so a brief synopsis would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!
January 16, 2015 at 7:49 am #820901
WSBKeymasterSorry, I didn’t hit a paywall when I found that link (I assume you mean the JOC) – there are some current complaints in the longshore workers’ union publication:
http://www.ilwu.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/DispatcherDEC2014lores.pdf
The overarching issue is that they’ve been working without a contract since the end of June. Details of the sticking points are not being discussed publicly – reviewing several stories from the past couple months, I could only find an allusion to the issues including wages and work rules, though they have reached tentative agreement on health care.
TR
January 16, 2015 at 11:23 pm #820902
J242ParticipantWell, traffic was a breeze today in comparison! It looks like our Mayor’s actions really did a lot to resolve the problem. This AM I had to head over to South Lake Union for meetings and I saw at least 6 cop cars parked at medians and police helping keep the flow of traffic moving.
Well done Seattle!
January 17, 2015 at 6:23 pm #820903
happy hourParticipantJ242. Thx. And My middle name is “short cut-cut…(my name).” I know every alley, light dodge etc to get around
January 17, 2015 at 6:32 pm #820904
J242Participant@ happy hour, I’m right there with you. Anytime friends are visiting from AK or New Orleans they are calling me to figure out how to get from A to B and avoid traffic. I’d rather be moving steadily at 25 MPH than stuck in gridlock parking repeatedly on a highway. ;) It’s why I always take the 509 to/from the airport instead of I-5.
Nice to meet another “wayward traveler”!
January 18, 2015 at 5:00 pm #820905
J242ParticipantThanks again WSB! It sounds to me like the terminals are trying to bring in lower cost (lower trained and probably lower quality as a result) workers instead of renewing their pre-existing contract with the union. In this case, only based on the limited info we have, I stand with the union members.
When I lived in Alaska the unions were the only things keeping the state from outsourcing major construction projects to outside firms which would have had the majority of the money leaving the state and benefiting our local economy far less while only paying slightly less for the services. Considering construction (Road, building and other infrastructure) are seasonal up there people would come in, save as much of their money earned as possible then leave immediately after a job was completed which would not benefit the local economy the construction was intended to service. It would be a net loss for the towns and state itself and this seems like a similar case.
I would love to see more updates on this on the front page so I could follow it but I know y’all have a LOT of local news to cover and you’ve always done (and continue to do) a brilliant job of juggling so much info for us.
Thanks again WSB and keep being great! :D
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