SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe made an unexpected announcement Monday afternoon that the upper West Seattle Bridge will be closed starting at 7 p.m. due to concerns about cracking in the bridge structure.
The lower swing bridge and its walking and biking path will remain operational, but the traffic lanes will be reserved for transit, freight and emergency access.
The upper bridge is the busiest bridge under Seattle’s control, carrying nearly 100,000 vehicles and the bulk of West Seattle buses on a typical day. Of course, these are not typical days, and Zimbabwe said traffic has dropped by about half due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
They did not give any cost or timeline estimates during the press conference because they are still assessing the problem. But it’s likely to be a lengthy closure (they seemed to be measuring it in weeks) and a costly fix.
This all means that biking is now the best way to get to and from West Seattle, and there are likely to be a lot more people trying to do so. This is what happened during the Viaduct closure in early 2019, and even with the outbreak there are still people who need to get around. If you live in West Seattle, now is the time to share resources with your neighbors about how to get around by bike. It sucks that the outbreak makes group rides a poor option, but letting folks near you know all the tips and tricks (best side streets, etc) you’ve learned would be a big help I’m sure.
Here’s an excerpt from the official Seattle Bike Map: (more…)