News about the week ahead for the West Seattle Bridge Program.
Following last week’s completion of structural concrete pours, we continued our work on post-tensioning the bridge. Our focus this week was installing more of the 11,000 feet of ducts that will guide and protect the tensioning cables throughout the bridge. Once installed, these post-tensioning cables will tighten to strengthen the bridge’s concrete.
 Ducts – the black, tube-like structures in the photo – were installed in this post-tensioning anchor block, which we recently poured along one of the bridge’s pier structures.
After we install the ducts throughout the bridge, we will begin threading the post-tensioning cables through them. These ducts prevent the tensioned cables from rusting and help ensure that they maintain their tension for decades to come. We will also fill the ducts with a grout compound after tensioning the cables to provide an added layer of protection.
We also made more progress on bridge maintenance projects this week, which included preparing more of the overhead sign structure foundations for new concrete. This work is being done now to make sure we’re ready to open the bridge to traffic once the repairs are completed.
The Seattle Transportation Plan is our commitment to building a safe, efficient, and affordable transportation system. Together, we are reimagining how we move around the city and enjoy our streets and public spaces. We began our first round of community outreach this week and are asking you to share your transportation needs and priorities with us.
 Read our recent blog post to learn more about the Seattle Transportation Plan.
Wrapping sections of the bridge with carbon-fiber reinforced polymer helps support the now-stabilized bridge. We wrap sections of the bridge with carbon-fiber wrapping to strengthen the bridge, much like putting a cast on an injured arm or leg.
 Carbon-fiber wrap installed on the outside of the West Seattle Bridge.
When we add carbon-fiber wrapping to surfaces of the bridge, it's working in tandem with the steel already inside the bridge to increase bridge strength. Carbon-fiber wrapping is being added inside and outside of the West Seattle Bridge for added strength. When we add carbon-fiber wrapping, we do so in phases, alternating with tightening the post-tensioning to ensure that the bridge continues to strengthen as the girders get more compressed.
 Unravelling a roll of carbon-fiber wrap and applying it to concrete.
Learn more about carbon-fiber wrap and epoxy crack filling in our repair method video.
Flip Your Trip offers support and free rides to those who live or work in West Seattle. Sign up today at FlipYourTrip.org to receive a special welcome bonus worth $25 in FREE trips you can use on transit, water taxi, and bike/scooter-share (using the Transit GO Ticket app)—as well as the first month free on Metro vanpools, personalized trip planning, informational events, and more.
 Three people boarding the King County Metro bus. Sign up for the Flip Your Trip Program to receive a special welcome bonus worth $25 in FREE trips you can use on the bus.
Participants can redeem their initial sign-up bonus by clicking on the new “rewards” button in the app menu, which will appear as 2,500 rewards points. Additional reward points can be earned by making transit and scooter/bike share trips. People who do not have smartphones can choose to receive an ORCA card and program updates through community organizations, instead of using the Transit GO Ticket mobile app. Learn more here.
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.
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