• High bridge repair: Prep work and detour for east platform hoist continues this weekend 
• Mariners can expect minor impacts on the Duwamish Waterway for Spokane St Swing Bridge (low bridge) maintenance 
• Weekend work: Repaving SW 106th St 

This Saturday, January 22, we’re completing electrical prep work on the eastern span of the bridge so that the final platforms can be raised later this month. This Saturday’s work includes temporarily removing existing light poles and other electrical equipment that will be in the path of the platform hoist. The hoist for the two east side platforms is scheduled for Saturday, January 29. A traffic detour will be in place both weekends.

Between 11:59 PM on Friday, January 28 and 5 AM on Tuesday, February 1 mariners will have limited access under the low bridge to navigate the Duwamish waterway. During this time, we will perform single-sided openings of the low bridge, which is when only the west half of the bridge will be able to open for marine vessels.   

This change is necessary to allow us to remove one of the bridge’s hydraulic pumps for routine maintenance. The pump is part of the system that allows the leaves of the low bridge to open and close to maritime traffic.  

People walking, biking, rolling or driving on the low bridge will not be affected, and people driving who are authorized low bridge users will still be able to access the bridge at all hours.  

In the coming months, bridge opening deviations such as this one will be needed as we plan to install work platforms on the low bridge, re-install hydraulic pumps, and change out the bridge’s lift cylinder. While timelines for each of these work elements are unique, we will work to minimize disruptions to vessels on the Duwamish Waterway and provide advanced notice for future deviation needs.   

For more information about the low bridge, including future capital projects, visit the Low Bridge Improvement Projects web page. Due to traffic demand on the low bridge since the closure of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge (high bridge), we are proactively taking measures to preserve the low bridge through a series of projects. 

Over the next two Sundays, 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.