(SEATTLE) The bridge connecting West Seattle with the rest of the city has been closed for over two years, but later today, we could get an official “re-opening” date.
The span was closed in March 2020 when cracks were discovered. A more thorough investigation showed supports designed to last decades could fail much sooner.
According to an email from city council member Lisa Herbold’s office, the city will brief the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force this afternoon at 4, offering a timeline for re-opening.
Concrete pours for structural repairs ended May 26th, and in a second email from Herbold’s office, she writes even though work was delayed due to the 5-month long concrete workers strike, the span is still expected to re-open mid-2022.
One truck driver told KOMO-4 “It’s been crazy. You had to learn new routes to get around. And all the traffic on the lower Spokane bridge (is) all backed up. It adds time to your day.”
“It’s a nightmare,” said Dominic Lepak, who lives in West Seattle. “Basically to get to the other side of the water, SODO or Georgetown, it’s going to take you at least 45 minutes. It deters you to do certain things.”
Meantime, The West Seattle Chamber has announced plans for a party to celebrate the link’s re-opening, which will include a chance to walk across the newly-repaired structure.
while some residents welcome the chance to celebrate having the bridge back, others would prefer to just open the bridge to traffic as soon as possible. A commenter on the West Seattle Blog suggested naming the party “Yay We Repaired the Bridge in Half the Time it Took to BUILD the Golden Gate Bridge in 1934!!”
