West Seattle Bridge Weekly Update
News about the week ahead for the West Seattle Bridge Program
Due to melting snow and heavy rain, we’re responding to flooding, landslides, downed trees, and power outages throughout Seattle, including West Seattle and South Park .
See the SDOT Travelers Map for the latest street and bridge closures, including closures on bridge detour routes. There are also live camera feeds to monitor conditions. The map is available at https://web6.seattle.gov/travelers.
If you need to travel today, please go slow, do not walk or drive through water, treat intersections without power as a four-way stop, and follow any lane closures or detours in place.
For regular updates and more information, follow our Twitter feed, visit the Seattle Public Utilities flooding response webpage, or visit the Seattle City Light Power outages webpage.
To learn about SDOT’s response to the snowstorm that brought the first waves of precipitation, please read this SDOT Blog post.
Last week, we continued assembling the work platforms that we’ll use as an elevated workspace to complete epoxy injections and carbon-fiber wrapping on the outside of the bridge. We expect to lift the first platform into place this Saturday on the west side of the Duwamish Waterway.
In the coming weeks, we plan to begin core drilling on the inside of the bridge at Pier 16. This will create access holes for post-tensioning cables that reinforce the strength of the bridge’s concrete to run through. We’ll also be relocating existing utility lines at this location to make room for the additional post-tensioning cables.
 Work platforms for the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge (high bridge) under construction beneath the Spokane Street Swing Bridge (low bridge). This platform will be moved and hoisted into place Saturday, January 8.
 Rigging hangs from the high bridge. The work platforms will be attached to these steel cables, which will support the weight of the platforms as we complete epoxy injections and carbon fiber wrapping.
Heads up that in coming weeks there may be some traffic impacts on SW Manning St and E Klickitat Ave while we raise the other set of work platforms on the east side of the bridge. Stay tuned for more details about timing in next Friday’s update.
Over the next four weekends, we'll briefly close the Spokane St Swing Bridge (low bridge) three times a day to the public. Each closure can last up to 30 minutes, which is about twice as long as the bridge is closed to traffic when it swings open for a vessel.
This year we will perform important rehabilitation upgrades to the low bridge to ensure that it remains in safe and usable condition. We will use these short-term closures to measure important deflection data for the low bridge so that future construction scaffolding will fit properly while we complete this rehabilitation work.
We are doing these short closures during off-peak periods and when there are lulls in traffic to minimize impacts to the community, including transit, freight, and other approved low bridge users.
The scheduled closure times are the same each day: during lulls in traffic around 9 AM, around 1 PM, and around 5 PM. The planned dates for these closures are:
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Sunday, January 9
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Sunday, January 16
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Sunday, January 23
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Sunday, January 30
People driving who are authorized to use the low bridge will need to take the signed detour routes during these closures, take the trip at a different time, or wait up to 30 minutes when the bridge will reopen.
People biking, walking, or rolling on the low bridge path can wait up to 30 minutes for the bridge path to reopen or they can continue south to use the 1st Ave S Bridge path.
 Signal crew members working on a traffic signal
We will have our signal crews working to replace overhead signs on Chelan Ave SW in front of the Chelan Café. The work is anticipated to begin Saturday as early as 5 AM and conclude by 5 PM. For people driving, we may need to briefly close lanes directly below the signs as we make updates. Please navigate the area with caution.
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Sign up for Flip Your Trip with 4,000 of your neighbors! We know that it is rough getting around right now and we would like to help you skip the traffic and get free rides by joining the Flip Your Trip campaign. Everyone that lives or works in West Seattle, South Park or Georgetown is eligible for $25 in free rides on the water taxi, bus and even e-scooters. Not sure what travel option would work best for you? We have ongoing trainings, events and are happy to help you figure out what will work best for your commute. Sign up at FlipYourTrip.org today.
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Plan ahead for sports in Sodo. As more in-person sporting events return, you may see increased traffic on game days. Metro provides a wide range of transportation options and choices for King County. In addition to the region’s largest bus network, our choices include vanpools, paratransit services, and many new forms of transportation solutions. Learn more about upcoming events on the King County Metro website.
If you or someone you know wants to talk with us, give feedback, or could benefit from having this information read to them in another language, please call (206) 400-7511.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WASEATTLE/bulletins/3049299
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