West Seattle, Washington
31 Monday
Back before the annual summer celebration in The Junction was Summer Fest, it was the Sidewalk Sale … and though the festival had to be canceled this year, a special day of outdoor shopping is planned before the season ends. Next Saturday – August 29th – many Junction retailers are participating in a big day of sidewalk sales, noon-4 pm. If you want to get going early, Easy Street Records is celebrating a delayed Record Store Day starting at 7 am. All outdoors – masked and distanced,
of course. The Junction Association promises, “The merchants have been saving their best deals since February for you.”
Seems like a good day for another compilation of cool bird photos sent by readers (THANK YOU!). The bird in the first two is a newsmaker, explains Sharon Wada: “Wanted to share a few images for the birders who were quite excited to see a precious Wandering Tattler foraging in the rocks along Alki. Appears that the Tattler was finding lots to eat including a small crustacean in the seaweed.”
For the hundreds of bird photos we’ve published over the years, that’s the first Wandering Tattler!
The next two bird photos are from Mark MacDonald – first, a Caspian Tern fishing at Jack Block Park:
Next, a Kingfisher:
Another royally named bird, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, photographed by Mark Wangerin:
From Michael Oxman, a close look at a Barred Owl:
Larry Gilpin photographed this juvenile Bald Eagle in Schmitz Park:
Elton Pinto spotted a Great Blue Heron hanging out in a tree near Alki Point:
And Ashley Wong photographed – through binoculars – an Osprey atop the lights at Terminal 5:
Thanks again to everyone who shares photos – from wildlife to breaking news! Email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 any time.
(WSB photos)
The first of two “rollouts” for this year’s pandemic-style Alki Beach Pride celebration just happened – a car and motorcycle parade.
Participants gathered at Jack Block Park to decorate their rides before heading up to Admiral and circling around to Alki. We photographed the parade just after it left the park, traveling northwest onto Harbor Avenue.
This is Alki Beach Pride’s 6th year! Its mission “is to unite the LGBTQ+ community, celebrate LQBTQ+ culture in a dignified way that acknowledges the intersection of race, liberate LGBTQ+ people who do not feel seen, heard, or accepted, and to educate our community in a way that fosters inclusivity, equality, and respect for everyone.”
Tomorrow’s “rollout” is for non-motorized wheels – skates, bikes, etc. – meet up at Statue of Liberty Plaza (61st/Alki) at 1 pm to be part of it.
9:58 AM: That’s one of the signs Ruth says you’ll see at the Westwood Village Post Office (2721 SW Trenton) at 11 am today. She just sent word of a protest planned there as part of the nationwide “day of action,” with USPS supporters rallying outside post offices at 11 am local time. (The nationwide lookup doesn’t [yet] show any planned events in West Seattle.)
12:10 PM: We went to WWV about half an hour ago to see how it turned out:
In the other Washington today, the U.S. House is considering a bill that would reverse some recent USPS changes.
2:12 PM: Just learned that a group gathered at the Post Office in The Junction, too.
Thanks to Alison for sending the photo!
(Sky over Fauntleroy, photographed earlier this week by Marty Westerman)
TRAFFIC ALERTS: More pavement repair/replacement on 44th between Edmunds and Alaska plus tree-trimming on Orchard east of Delridge. And if you’re heading for South Park, be aware of work on S. Cloverdale between 10th and 12th.
ALKI BEACH PRIDE CAR PARADE: As previewed here, meet at Jack Block Park at 10:30 am for an 11 am car parade to Alki. (2130 Harbor SW)
YOUNGSTOWN COFFEE/HEARTBEET CAFE CELEBRATION: As announced:
You are invited to celebrate our new home in the Morgan Junction!
All weekend long Aug 22/23 enjoy 20% off of all in-person orders or online orders through our website. (the special does not apply to third-party delivery orders)
On Saturday, come say hello to us and meet some of our partners in the community who will have some beautiful goods for sale out front. 11 am to 4 pm. Masks required. Hand sanitizer will be provided. No cash sales.
(6032 California SW)
FREE COMMUNITY LUNCH: Sack lunches available noon-1 pm in the courtyard at West Side Presbyterian Church. (3601 California SW)
LOOP THE ‘LUPE T-SHIRT/BUFF PICKUP: 3-5 pm at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor). P.S. Not too late to register to be part of the virtual event!
KENYON HALL PRESENTS, ONLINE: 7:30 pm at this Zoom link, enjoy a free concert by Jack Williams. If you can donate, go here – donations will be split between the performer and nonprofit Kenyon Hall.
25 weeks ago tonight, King County announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Here’s the latest:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:
*18,418 people have tested positive, 105 more than yesterday
*708 people have died, 5 more than yesterday
*2,147 people have been hospitalized, 15 more than yesterday
*336,589 people have been tested, 6,365 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 17,340/686/2,081/311,981.
ANOTHER AREA DEATH: 98146, part of which is in south West Seattle, just recorded its 11th death. For the record, here are the current totals for the other four zip codes that are all or partly in West Seattle:
98116 – 2
98136 – 3
98106 – 4
98126 – 14
(Providence Mount St. Vincent accounts for half of 98126’s total.)
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 22.8 million cases, 797,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
MAYOR & COUNCIL MAKE A DEAL … regarding extra economic relief for people pummeled by the pandemic.
NEED FOOD? Free lunch Saturday:
West Side Presbyterian Church Free Community Lunch, 12:00-1:00 pm. Sack lunch provided in the church courtyard at 3601 California Ave SW. Free to all.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(Renderings by Ankrom Moisan)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Though Design Review is supposed to focus on buildings, the streetscape occupied much of the attention as the Southwest Design Review Board got its first look at the second half of the Sweeney family’s West Seattle Triangle proposal.
The first half, 4406 36th SW, got first-phase approval (Early Design Guidance) two weeks ago (WSB coverage here). Thursday’s meeting was about the building to its west, 4440 Fauntleroy Way SW. Four of the five SWDRB members were present – chair Crystal Loya, John Cheng, Alan Grainger, and Scott Rosenstock (all West Seattleites serving on the all-volunteer, city-appointed board) – along with the city planner assigned to the project, Sean Conrad. The meeting followed the long-standard format, in four segments:
Early heads-up from Washington State Ferries:
The Southworth terminal facility must close early on Thursday, August 27 for maintenance. This requires the cancellation of the last three sailings of the day between Fauntleroy and Southworth. The following late-night/early morning sailings will be canceled:
• 11:45 p.m. (Thursday, 8/27) Fauntleroy to Southworth
• 12:30 a.m. (Friday, 8/28) Southworth to Fauntleroy
• 1:00 a.m. (Friday, 8/28) Fauntleroy to SouthworthThis will not affect sailings between Fauntleroy and Vashon Island. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we maintain our ferry system.
Though it might not be the best of weather for outdoor enjoyment tonight, the sunshine will return to full strength – Saturday afternoon, says the forecast. Here’s a new outdoor option for the rest of the summer: Best of Hands Brewery & Barrelhouse (7500 35th SW; WSB sponsor) emailed with the photo you see above and the news that “we are now featuring a weekend pop-up beer garden at the brewery from Friday @ 5 PM – close on Sunday for as long as the weather holds. It is still 21+ throughout our premises.” They’re still hosting food trucks, too – find the calendar by scrolling down their homepage.
Just announced …
If you’ve been doing “quarantine cleaning” and finding yourself unable to get rid of some items because the pandemic has reduced donation/drop-off opportunities – good news! The West Seattle Junction Association and partners are presenting this reuse/recycle event next month, 9 am-1 pm Saturday, September 26th, in the lot off 42nd SW south of SW Oregon. Shredding, too. It’s all free. Go here for the rules (such as, wear a mask, even in your vehicle).
In case you wondered, Fauntleroy Church has told us they’re NOT planning a fall Recycle Roundup, so the Junction event is your big chance. Or, if you can’t wait …
GEORGETOWN EVENT: We’ve received an announcement of 3R Technology‘s “e-waste recycling event” 10 am-2 pm Saturday, August 29th, at 5511 1st Ave. S. [map]. Click ahead for those details: Read More
(EVENING UPDATE: Archived video of briefing now viewable above)
2:06 PM: Just under way (and viewable above via Seattle Channel), Mayor Jenny Durkan, Police Chief Carmen Best, and Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz are holding a media briefing announced as “to discuss the Mayor’s decision regarding the 2020 rebalanced budget and the recent increase in gun violence incidents in Seattle.” The “rebalanced budget” is what the City Council finalized last week, including cuts to SPD and other city departments. We’ll add notes as this goes.
The mayor says the city expects leaders to work together and notes that she and council leaders have struck a deal on added emergency spending. She notes that the overall budget hole is $326 million but the city’s managed to launch new programs for pandemic-related relief anyway.
But she says she is vetoing the overall budget bill, amid disagreements with the council on the police and human-services budgets. (She also vetoed other spending bills including the $3 million that was to go to community organizations for researching community-safety plans.) She says that with SPD leaders, they’re examining the budget closely – what the council passed would “mire the city” in problems, maybe even lawsuits. “Alternative programs” need to be in place – not just under discussion – before current ones are cut, she says. She also expresses hope for collaboration with council leadership. (The council could override the veto. However, its 2-week end of summer break is about to begin.)
GUN VIOLENCE: Shots-fired incidents are up dramatically in the city, she says – 116 since June 1st, a 55 percent increase. (The Southwest Precinct commander has noted an increase in our area too, though smaller, as we reported earlier this week.) She talks about community programs’ role in prevention, and turns the mic over to Interim Chief-to-be Diaz.
2:20 PM: He begins with an update on 3 murder cases – including the suitcase-bodies double murder whose victims were found at Duwamish Head, mentioning what was announced yesterday – the arrest of a Burien man. (The other two cases in which arrests have just been made were not in West Seattle.) He says SPD’s homicide clearance rate since 2012 has averaged 71 percent – while the national rate is in the 60s.
Then Diaz goes into stats, saying shots-fired incidents are up nationwide as well as locally. “We have to stop the shootings, the injuries, the dying right now,” he says. “We need the entire city to come together and end gun violence.” He makes way for Chief Best, who says this is probably her last media briefing “for the city of Seattle.” She asks everyone in the city to “please support Chief Adrian Diaz” in his new role. “Support him, support each other, let’s make sure we have good community safety going forward.” The mayor gives the chief a bouquet of flowers, then it’s on to Q&A.
First: The mayor’s asked how she’ll try to work out a deal on the police budget with the council. She says the main sticking points are the elimination of the Navigation Team, the leadership salary cuts, and the proposed 100-officer reduction, but she has hope for collaboration. On followup, she says that “they’ve agreed to sit down and talk about those things.” Regarding next year’s budget – she’ll be sending a plan to the council in just a month – she says the discussions will have to continue into next year. She also promises “the community” – not just advocacy groups – will have a significant say.
In response to another question, she says she hasn’t been talking to the police union. Then: Does she see a smaller police department in the future? Maybe, maybe not – it could be a smaller department with more patrol officers, for example, after some functions move to other departments. On the final question, she reiterated that she’s hopeful there’s a “path forward” to work out something with the council. She says the council’s impending break shouldn’t complicate matters as they have a month or so to deal with a veto.
2:58 PM: The briefing concludes. We’ll substitute the archived video above when it’s available.
EVENING UPDATE: The video is added.
In addition to the 44th SW road work this weekend that we’ve already previewed multiple times, SDOT has three more alerts:
ROADSIDE TREE TRIMMING: This may be happening along two stretches:
We are continuing our tree trimming work on West Seattle Bridge closure reroutes this weekend. This work is important to increase visibility and enhance safety. This Saturday and Sunday, August 22-23, we’ll work to complete tree trimming on SW Orchard St between Delridge Way SW and Dumar Way SW heading eastbound. If we’re able to finish that project, there is also some much-needed tree trimming to accomplish at the 6700 block of W Marginal Way SW, near Highland Park Way SW.
ALSO THIS WEEKEND, IN SOUTH PARK: This is along the main route to/from the South Park Bridge – note that it’ll continue next weekend, too:
Starting this weekend, August 22-23, a private contractor will begin working on S Cloverdale St between 10th Ave S and 12th Ave S to replace two large utility cuts in the road that are currently patched with asphalt. This work will continue for two consecutive weekends.
During this work, traffic will be down to a single lane. The contractor’s crews will be directing traffic in alternate directions. Crews will be at the site 24/7 during these weekends and people should expect delays. This work is weather dependent. The paving crews will use fast-setting concrete, which means that if all goes well, the road should be open for Monday morning traffic each week.
DELRIDGE CLOSURE NEXT WEEKEND: Early heads-up:
As a part of the Delridge Way SW RapidRide H Line project, all lanes of Delridge Way SW will be closed from SW Barton St to 18th Ave SW for up to 2 days beginning on Saturday, August 29. Delridge Way SW will be restricted to local access only from SW Henderson St to SW Roxbury St, but access to businesses in this area will be maintained. This closure will allow our team to connect a catch basin in the roadway. Please follow posted detour routes to 16th Ave SW. If you have any questions about this work, please contact DelridgeTransit@seattle.gov or 206-775-8739
You can buy Vashon Fresh food without leaving West Seattle! Today we welcome this new WSB sponsor, and here’s what they would like you to know:
Vashon Fresh is a true farm-to-table experience. Everything sold on our site is either grown or processed on Vashon Island, a quick 15-minute ferry ride across the water. You order and pay online – browse here – and there are two pickup days every week in West Seattle, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Harvested fresh, your items will only pass through 2 sets of hands, the producer and the distribution member of our small 3-person team. Vashon Island hosts over 2 dozen farms that are owned and operated by our community members and purveyors of historical farmland. The Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA) has a mission to promote farming, access to healthy food, and a sustainable agricultural economy is furthered by the ability to sell goods through Vashon Fresh. We have several producers that have been a staple at the West Seattle Farmers Market in past years but are unable to physically sell their goods this year with the decrease of booths available. We want to ensure their customer base is able to easily access their goods as well as offering new producers the opportunity to share their goods with our West Seattle neighbors.
Vashon Fresh works in tandem with our physical Farmers Market and has done so for the past 5 years. This year we made the difficult decision to postpone the physical market to ensure the safety of our community. Our customers are our neighbors, visitors, and friends. They appreciate the care that goes into each item sold and the ability to buy directly from the island. We work closely with WA State EBT, SNAP, and the Food Access Partnership to ensure all of our community members and visitors are able to access fresh goods regardless of their income level. We get to know our customers and their families and build a relationship with them through each market season. We enjoy seeing them and appreciate their return business. We are so pleased to have had an online model built into our market season, which enabled us to safely pivot during COVID-19 restrictions and closures.
West Seattle pickups are Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2:30-4 pm in the lot at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW). Place your order on the Vashon Fresh website!
We thank Vashon Fresh for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
SMASH-AND-GRAB SUSPECT CHARGED: Last month we reported on a smash-and-grab theft at Bellevue Rare Coins in The Junction. Now the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged a suspect. 22-year-old Christopher A. King of Renton is charged with 2 counts of first-degree theft, in this case and a March incident at a jewelry store in Tukwila. The documents say he has a record including burglary and auto theft and just got out of prison in January. While the thief wore a disguise (security-video framegrab above) while smashing a display case and bolting with $36,000 in jewelry, the charging papers say King was identified thanks to the store employee who reviewed video and found a store visitor earlier in the day, undisguised, with the same clothing, shoes, watch, and hair (as shown here). That image was in turn circulated among law-enforcement officers and one recognized King. He is not in custody; there’s a $10,000 warrant out for his arrest.
ANOTHER CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFT: Kimberly reports a catalytic-converter theft overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, near 47th/Hinds. (We have a followup question out asking what make/model of car.)
(Alki Point Lighthouse, photographed this week by Robin Sinner)
Three quick reminders:
BRIDGE ALTERNATIVES: As previewed yesterday, 10 am online discussion – registration required.
FREE FOOD: As noted in our virus-crisis roundups, Food Lifeline is distributing boxes of food again today, 2 pm-5 pm. (815 S. 96th)
DEMONSTRATION: Weekly event, as announced by organizer Nancy:
Please join us to show support for Black and Brown friends, family, and neighbors, to #SayTheirNames, and to remember that people are still suffering injustice. We welcome people to come and discuss why people support Black Lives Matter, and to discuss what defunding the police means and what it might look like.
What: BLM and #SayTheirNames
When: Friday, August 21st, from 5:30-6:30 pm
Where: Pedestrian overpass on Delridge at the Delridge Community Center/Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.Please remember to wear your masks!
(Delridge/Oregon)
6:16 AM: It’s Friday, the 151st morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD WORK/CLOSURES
*Major work continues along Delridge Way for the RapidRide H Line prep project – here’s the bulletin detailing where crews are working this week and how that affects traffic/access.
*Reminder: More pavement repair will close part of 44th SW between Edmunds and Alaska again this weekend.
CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
Here’s the 5-way intersection camera (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Here’s the restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am) low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here’s that camera:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s that camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed.
Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.
You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
TRANSIT
Metro – No recent changes – still reduced service and distancing – details here.
Water Taxi – Still on its “winter” schedule, with the 773 and 775 shuttles running – see the schedule here.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
Good news from the governor starts tonight’s roundup:
GOVERNOR’S GOOD NEWS: At a rare morning media briefing, Gov. Inslee said the number of new cases is starting to decline in much of the state.
The percentage of positive test results is declining too. But don’t get excited yet, he warned – the rate is still 4 times what it should be. You can watch his full briefing here.
BOWLING RETURNS: Also from the governor today, new guidance that means bowling centers can reopen – for league play and practice. We checked West Seattle Bowl‘s website and they’re planning to reopen next month under the new rules.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*18,313 people have tested positive, up 183 from yesterday
*703 people have died, up 6 from yesterday
*2,132 people have been hospitalized, up 2 from yesterday
*330,224 people have been tested, up 2,776 from yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 17,204/685/2,073/307,132.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 22.6 million cases worldwide, and the U.S. has a fourth of them, at 5.5 million. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
NEW WEST SEATTLE TESTING SITE: Starting next week, the city will offer five-day-a-week testing in the Southwest Athletic Complex lot.
WEST SEATTLE TESTING TOMORROW: Meantime, the weekly South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) COVID-19 testing happens tomorrow – 7 am to 1 pm Fridays.
NEED FOOD? Also tomorrow, 2-5 pm, free boxes of food are available at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th).
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Two project notes:
1772 ALKI AVENUE SW: A key approval is in for five 3-story townhouses, with 8 offstreet parking spaces, to replace two houses at 1772-1774 Alki SW. The decision opens an appeal period through September 3rd; this notice explains how to file one. We covered the “early community outreach” meeting for this project almost two years ago.
7035 DELRIDGE WAY SW: We first reported on this nine-townhouse plan with nine off-street parking spaces last December. Now it’s going into Administrative Design Review. Go here to see the design packet. This notice explains how to comment.
A couple nights ago, Kay told us about Brooke, working to restore a vandalized bus-shelter mural at 35th/Thistle. Today, Brooke sends an update:
Just wanted to share the (almost) final result. I need to let this dry and then touch up where it was gouged.
Pretty pleased with the progress and hopefully it inspires others in the community and if nothing else is a bit of good news. I had no idea how much this mural meant to folks.
(Added: Seattle Channel video of announcement)
3:47 PM: The city’s been promising for a while that a new COVID-19 testing site was in the works for West Seattle, and the location has just been announced: The lot at Southwest Athletic Complex, 2801 SW Thistle (behind SW Pool/Teen Life Center). Testing will be available there five days a week. Mayor Jenny Durkan is making the announcement in Rainier Beach this afternoon, while visiting one of the city’s three existing sites. We talked with her by phone while she was on the way to that event; she says, “We’re going to have to live with COVID at least another year or so,” which means abundantly available testing will be all the more important. Right now, she says, the city’s three testing sites are accounting for about 15 percent of the testing done statewide – administering more than 128,000 tests since early June. More details from the announcement:
Testing is free at the City of Seattle sites, and clients are not billed regardless of health insurance status. For those with insurance, UW Medicine will handle the billing of Medicaid, Medicare, or individuals’ private insurance. Under Washington state law, insurance companies cannot charge co-pays for COVID-19 testing. For uninsured clients, UW Medicine will seek reimbursement directly from the federal, Families First Coronavirus Response Act Relief Fund for the cost of the test. 
Clients can, and should, register online to keep wait times to 10 minutes or less. Registration for the West Seattle location will be available on Wednesday, August 26, and testing will begin Friday, August 28. Hours across all sites are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Individuals can sign up to be tested five days of the week. Translation services are offered at all Citywide testing sites and can be requested during the registration process. Individuals should first seek to access testing through their primary care physician.
This testing will be available to anyone, the mayor stressed; appointments are preferred – a West Seattle link will show up soon on this webpage – and they’re working on same-day options for people with symptoms.
5:22 PM: Here’s the full announcement. (Note that although the city’s headline says this is at Chief Sealth, we verified that it’s across the street at SWAC, “behind the pool.”)
(WSB photo, June 19th)
12:56 PM: Two months after the discovery of two murder victims in a suitcase at Duwamish Head, police have just announced an arrest:
A 62-year-old man is in custody for the murder of two people after their remains were located in West Seattle in June. On Wednesday afternoon, detectives arrested the suspect at a residence in Burien. He was interviewed and then booked into the King County Jail.
The victims were 35-year-old Jessica Lewis and 27-year-old Austin Wenner, both from south King County, both shot to death. More info to come …
1:22 PM: The suspect remains in jail. He has not yet been charged so we are not publishing his name. We haven’t found a felony record for him yet in state files, but case documents from a 2016 misdemeanor domestic-violence-assault arrest in Burien describe him as “a convicted felon.” He’s due for a probable-cause/bail hearing this afternoon and we should have more information after that.
5:10 PM: Still awaiting more details, but the jail register shows the suspect’s bail is now set at $5 million.
7:23 PM: The probable-cause document from the bail hearing says the suspect had rented a room at his south Burien home to the victims but had been fighting with them and wanted them to leave. Neighbors told police that on June 9th, they heard gunfire coming from the house, and heard a male voice yelling “Please don’t do this, just let me leave.” Burien Police went to the house but no one answered the door. When Seattle Police served a warrant there yesterday, the document says, they found bullet holes, bullet strikes, spent rounds, and blood in one of the rooms. The rounds were 9mm, same as a gun they found in the suspect’s car at the time of his arrest. He told detectives the victims had been staying with him and acknowledged they had been fighting with him and had been unable to pay the $1,500/month rent he was charging, but he did not have an explanation for the evidence of gunfire in the room. One more note: The probable-cause document says, without details, that the suspect has a record for drugs and DUI.
(WSB photo, last Saturday)
Last Saturday, you might recall, crews working to replace damaged pavement on 44th SW in The Junction, between SW Alaska and SW Edmunds, hit a gas line. We followed up with SDOT to ask how that happened. Spokesperson Kari Tupper says that, as with the Delridge breaks last month, this was a case of a line that shouldn’t have been there, and that in turn forced the extension of the work into this past Monday:
On Saturday, SDOT paving crews discovered a gas line that appears to have been abandoned by someone who did not follow the proper shutoff/ removal procedures. SDOT crews followed all of the proper safety protocols before and after the gas line break, and worked with Puget Sound Energy and Seattle Fire Department to shut off the abandoned gas line.
While our paving crews resolved the situation relatively quickly, the incident forced us to push back our concrete delivery by a few hours and our concrete supplier was unable to provide all of the concrete mix we needed due to commitments with another contractor who had arranged a large delivery that same afternoon. The supplier was unable to open up their facilities to make a delivery on Sunday. Fortunately, our crews adapted to the situation and were able to accomplish other necessary work on Sunday. The concrete was delivered and crews finished the paving work on Monday morning.
The project is now back on schedule and that means two more weekend closures as originally announced: this weekend (August 22-23) and next (August 29-30).
If you’re interested in a closer look at the early-stage potential scenarios for West Seattle Bridge replacement, including an “immersed tube” tunnel, you’re invited to an online discussion/presentation Friday morning. The six scenarios are what the Cost-Benefit Analysis will examine, and sketches were featured in a presentation to the Community Task Force a month ago. The Washington Business Alliance is presenting tomorrow’s event, with speakers including the tunnel’s proponent Bob Ortblad. It’s at 10 am Friday (August 21) and you will have to register to get the link – you can do that by going here.
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