(WSB photo)

Last Monday night, we reported on City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s unofficial survey asking whether you support repairing the West Seattle Bridge or replacing it. She announced results in her newest weekly update:

On October 12 at approximately 7 p.m., I conducted an online survey asking whether people support a repair or a replacement of the West Seattle Bridge.

It’s not a scientific survey, and geographic responses aren’t representative of District 1 overall. That said, it is useful for receiving feedback from constituents at this point in time. Thank you to all who engaged.

As of 7 p.m. on October 14, approximately 7,000 people had participated and of them, 59.8% favored repair, 36% supported replacement, and 4.2% supported other.

39% of replies were from 98116, the zip code furthest north in West Seattle. Other zip codes, such as 98106 and 98126, stretch from north to south, 98126 is in the central portion, 98106 in the eastern portion. 98136 is the SW portion of West Seattle, and 98108 includes South Park. 98146 includes the very southwest portions of the city.

Zip Repair Replace % of Total Replies
98116 66.8% 29.6% 39% of total
98126 64.7% 31.39% 24% of total
98136 58.6% 37.1% 16% of total
98106 41.7% 54.6% 16% of total
98146 37.3% 60% 4% of total
98108 34% 66% 1% of total

Her weekly update also recapped the major headlines from last week’s extra meeting of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force, which we covered Wednesday afternoon – that the Cost-Benefit Analysis won’t be out until next week, so the timeline for the mayor’s decision is pushed back, and that a new “rapid replacement” option had surfaced. Both the CBA and the new option will be discussed at the next CTF meeting, noon Wednesday (October 21st) online.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Two headlines emerged as the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force gathered online this afternoon for a between-meetings discussion:

First, the expectation that Mayor Jenny Durkan would announce a “repair or replace?” decision at next Wednesday’s CTF meeting is no longer the plan – the final Cost-Benefit Analysis won’t even be ready for the CTF to look at until Monday, so they’ll be discussing it next week rather than making, or hearing, a recommendation.

Second, a ‘rapid replacement” possibility is suddenly in play – modeled after the Lake Champlain Bridge connecting New York and Vermont, built in two years.

(Lake Champlain Bridge, NYDOT photo)

More about that, the CTF was told, will be presented at next week’s meeting. Today was not meant to be a time for presentations, but more an hour and a half of temperature-taking. As co-chair Paulina Lopez explained, they wanted to spend more time “to hear from each other.”

Ahead, how that unfolded: Read More

(WSB photo)

West Seattle Bridge notes tonight as the mayor’s repair-or-replace decision nears:

COUNCILMEMBER’S POLL: West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold sent email tonight launching a survey to ask you – repair or replace? You can answer here. Her email announcing the survey recaps what SDOT presented at last week’s Community Task Force meeting (WSB coverage here), from the forthcoming Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA).

ABOUT THAT ANALYSIS: The day after the meeting, we asked SDOT if the full CBA document is available yet, or at least the missing cost-in-dollars projections. They replied today:

The final Cost-Benefit Analysis is not yet complete.

As you know, we are at zero percent design. We do not have exact cost estimates at this point and, from a Cost-Benefit Analysis perspective, it is more important to have apples to apples comparisons of the scale of various alternatives. The most critical aspect is understanding which options would likely cost more than the other to carry out (repair or replace) and which would be more costly over the long-run in terms of operations and maintenance. As we finalize the Cost-Benefit Analysis, we will be able to provide more detail on the conceptual cost estimates we have developed through the CBA process.

ABOUT THE CAUSE: Another followup question we asked was for elaboration on Technical Advisory Panel co-chair Barbara Moffat‘s mention during last week’s meeting that they now understand what went wrong with the bridge. Here’s the reply we got, also today: “While our confidence in our understanding of the physics affecting the bridge has grown with time as we’ve been able to test our advanced engineering modeling by watching the bridge behave as predicted in response to seasonal temperature changes and our initial stabilization efforts, it may never be possible to determine with 100% certainty a single underlying cause of the bridge cracking, or even if there was a single isolated cause.” We’ll keep following up.

STABILIZATION UPDATE: SDOT is posting stabilization updates every Monday; today’s edition is here. Key points include that the release of the stuck Pier 18 bearing might happen as soon as next week, as well as a note that those two work platforms under the bridge will likely be there until late November.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“This has been bad. It’s been awful for West Seattle. And there’s no immediate fix … no matter what options we take here, we’re in this for a number of years.”

That’s part of what Mayor Jenny Durkan told the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force today at its 10th meeting, two weeks before she is expected to announce her choice between “repair now and replace later” or “proceed directly to replacement.”

But the centerpiece of the meeting came in toplines from the report that is supposed to shape her decision, along with input from the CTF and the Technical Advisory Panel: The Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). And members voiced concern that it doesn’t give enough consideration to the misery the mayor mentioned. The toplines presented by SDOT seemed to be leaning toward “proceed directly to replacement,” but without some key information: Cost estimates in dollars, and cost estimates in impacts to area residents and businesses.

Though the mayor spoke first, as one CTF member observed, it would have been more helpful for the CBA toplines to have been presented first, so that’s where we’re starting, right after the meeting video:

(Note: Meeting stopped for 15 minutes starting 55 minutes in due to technical trouble)
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(WSB photo, Monday)

As West Seattle Bridge stabilization work continues, so does the road to the repair-or-replace decision. When the Community Task Force meets tomorrow (Wednesday, October 7th, noon) for the 10th time, its three-dozen-plus members are scheduled to talk again with Mayor Jenny Durkan. She last spoke at a CTF meeting in mid-August (WSB coverage here); tomorrow, she will “set expectations/establish goals for bridge repair/replace decision” and define/clarify “the multiple inputs for (the) decision,” according to the agenda. Then in two weeks, she’ll be back to announce/discuss the decision. Since our first preview of tomorrow’s meeting, they’ve dropped plans to break into two discussion groups during tomorrow’s meeting, so this is the only link you’ll need to watch it, live or later.

Two West Seattle Bridge notes tonight:

WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE NOW ‘VIDEO WALL’: With the repair-or-replace decision due before the month is out, the community coalition West Seattle Bridge NOW continues pressing for a quick fix. Last month we reported on their call for people to send videos telling their stories underscoring that plea. WSBN has now published some of them as a “video wall” here, featuring West Seattleites from students to seniors. “We’re really excited about how this turned out,” says WSBN’s Kevin Broveleit.

NEXT COMMUNITY TASK FORCE MEETING: The livestream viewing links are already set for the next West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting, coming up at noon this Wednesday (October 7th) – the main link is here, and that will include one of the breakout-discussion groups during the meeting; the other discussion group will break off to this link. We don’t have the agenda yet, so we don’t know exactly when in the meeting that’s scheduled to happen. But the centerpiece of the meeting is expected to be information from the Cost-Benefit Analysis – the report that will shape the repair-or-replace decision before the month ends.

4 bridge-related notes:

STABILIZATION-WORK UPDATE: That photo of the bridge’s underside, credited to Alex Francis, is part of this week’s SDOT update on bridge-stabilization work. From the update:

This week, the contractor is planning to:

*Continue prepping for the post-tensioning work
*Continue prepping for Pier 18 access
*Continue inspecting, mapping, and filling cracks

The work continues atop, beneath, and inside the bridge.

MAYOR’S BUDGET PLAN: With the repair-or-replace decision still up to a month away, what will Mayor Jenny Durkan propose for the bridge in her 2021 budget? We’ll find out in a few hours – her plan goes public at 1 pm today, and the council’s budget work starts tomorrow. So far, the city has allotted $70 million via an “interfund loan,” but that’s just a down payment. The council doesn’t finalize the budget until November, so there’s theoretically time for change once the decision is in.

CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: After the mayor’s presentation, the council has its weekly business meeting at 2 pm today, one day later than usual because of Yom Kippur. Besides the low-bridge-camera legislation we reported on Monday, the agenda has one other bridge-related item. A resolution calling for review of potential Comprehensive Plan amendments that would be considered next year includes one now described as a “review of policies and maps in the Comprehensive Plan to determine whether any changes are warranted due to the failure of the West Seattle Bridge.” This is a revision of the proposal from community member Deb Barker, which we first reported on three weeks ago.

REMINDER – TOWN HALL TOMORROW NIGHT: The bridge is scheduled to be the focus of the second hour of City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s two-hour online “town hall” 5:30-7:30 pm Wednesday (as announced last Friday). To get the viewing link, and info on asking questions, you have to RSVP here.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Six months ago, the West Seattle Bridge was closed with just a few hours’ notice.

When, or if, it will reopen, remains undetermined.

But one thing’s for sure – the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force is getting close to one of its milestones in the process of helping with the decision about the bridge’s fate.

“Process” is the key word here, as noted by more than one person Wednesday afternoon during the all-volunteer task force’s ninth meeting. Much of the meeting focused on the process of developing the Cost-Benefit Analysis that is expected to be the key to the repair-or-replace decision later this fall.

Here’s how the meeting went:

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(Photo by Tony Welch)

One week ago, we noted that the community coalition West Seattle Bridge NOW had yet to hear back from the mayor after sending her a letter imploring a fast fix for the six-months-closed bridge. That spurred the coalition to work on what you might call a “video petition” (still in progress). But in the meantime, WSBN’s Kevin Broveleit tells WSB they did finally get a mayoral response – it’s posted in full on the coalition website. No major revelations or promises, but here’s an excerpt:

Like me, I know others want to see a solution right now. Restoring safe travel for years to come to and from West Seattle is my north star. I cannot stress enough that we have not passed up a single opportunity to expedite these efforts and that I will continue to be steadfastly focused on efficiency throughout.

Since the closure of the High-Rise Bridge, we’ve worked to simultaneously advance all efforts needed to expeditiously pursue both a repair or replace scenario in addition to traffic and environmental mitigation efforts. By advancing all pathways at once, not a moment has been lost while the careful and thorough assessment is done to understand which avenue – repair or replace – provides the best, safest outcome for the region over the long term.In October, I am expecting a full engineering and comprehensive cost-benefit analysis that Task Force – which includes the Coalition – have played a part in shaping.

“It’s a good start,” says Broveleit, adding that the coalition is working on a formal response, as well as the aforementioned video (to which you can still contribute).

Meantime, the task force mentioned in the mayor’s letter, the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force, meets online at noon tomorrow; the agenda and viewing link are at the end of this WSB story.

Since the bridge closure six months ago raised the volume of traffic through the West Marginal/Highland Park Way intersection, people have been asking about getting a traffic camera there, to see backups and incidents. When six new traffic cameras were announced elsewhere in May, we asked about it, and SDOT said no additional new cameras were planned. Then last week, while talking with SDOT’s Heather Marx about the overall West Marginal plan (WSB coverage here), we asked again, and she said it was a possibility, so they would look into it. Today, we just got word that a temporary camera is now in place at the intersection and SDOT is working to make it accessible via its traffic-info map. SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson has one caveat: “Because there is no fiber-optic connection to this intersection, the camera will need to use cellular data to send images. This means that the public will see still images updated every minute, and not a constant video stream. This will be an interim solution as we investigate what it would take to install a permanent camera at this location.” The camera should appear on the map “by next week,” he adds. The image above is a framegrab taken during testing.

P.S. The West Marginal plan will be a topic during this week’s West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting, noon Wednesday (September 23rd) – here’s the agenda. SDOT tells us that from now on, the meetings will be livestreamed on YouTube – here’s the link.

(SDOT photo)

Last nonth, we reported on the community coalition West Seattle Bridge NOW sending Mayor Durkan a letter imploring her to proceed with bridge repairs ASAP. No response yet, says the group, so it’s now inviting you to be part of what you might call a video petition:

About three weeks ago, we sent a petition with more than 3,600 signatures on it asking the Mayor for immediate action to repair our Bridge. To date we haven’t heard back, so we wanted to follow up with her, but this time in a personal way.

The West Seattle Bridge NOW citizens coalition has a new ask. Our goal is to highlight everyday West Seattleites in a short video telling their story, in their own words, as to how the closure of the West Seattle Bridge as affected them. We need your smart phone selfie testimonials to make this happen!

To participate, please visit: wsbnpetition.com/share-your-story

Your story will be hosted on the WSBN website and shown to the mayor as part of the group’s commitment to driving urgent action on behalf of our community.

SDOT said again at last week’s West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting that it’s expecting to decide in October between “repair now/replace later” and “replace now.” Meantime, stabilization work continues (here’s an update SDOT published Monday).

(Photo by Tony Welch)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As noted here last week, the citywide bridge audit – ordered by City Council Transportation Chair Alex Pedersen after the sudden West Seattle Bridge closure – will be presented to councilmembers this week. In advance of that, the audit document is out today, along with SDOT’s response. We’ve just read it. First, so you can read it too, here it is:

(You can also see it on the city website.)

The audit, by the City Auditor’s Office, counts West Seattle’s city bridges as 20 separate structures (see page 31), 8 rated “good” as of last year, the other 12 (including all sections of the high bridge) rated “fair,” the middle of three categories in the federal rating system. “Fair” is how a majority of the city’s bridges are rated:

But the audit does not dive into specific conditions of specific bridges – it is an overview of the program in general, as explained:

We analyzed 77 vehicle traffic bridges that are owned and maintained by SDOT. These bridges have a median age of 70 years.

According to 2019 Federal Highway Administration pavement and bridge condition performance measures, although Seattle has a high number of poor and fair bridges (based on the federal rating system of good, fair, and poor), this is comparable with peer cities around the country. Nevertheless, even bridges in fair condition, like the West Seattle High Bridge, can require major, unexpected closures.

Over the last decade, a larger percentage of Seattle’s bridges have gotten worse compared to those that have gotten better. Over the past 14 years, the average amount SDOT spent on bridge maintenance was $6.6 million annually. 3 However, according to knowledgeable SDOT officials, the City is not spending enough to keep its bridges in good condition and avoid costly future repairs.

… The number of Seattle’s bridges that are in poor or fair condition is concerning for two reasons. First, several of the largest and busiest bridges that connect communities across Seattle are not in good condition, which means they are at an elevated risk of unexpected closures that could affect thousands of people. For example: the University Bridge on average carries 36,000 vehicles daily and is rated poor; the Magnolia Bridge on average carries\ 20,000 vehicles daily and is rated poor; and before it was closed this year, the West Seattle High Bridge on average carried 108,179 vehicles daily and was in fair condition.

Most of SDOT’s bridges are in fair condition but, over time, the condition of the overall bridge portfolio has gotten worse. During this time, the percent of total bridges in good condition has declined from 38 percent to 29 percent (see Exhibit 5). According to federal guidance, SDOT should be working to preserve good bridges in good condition to maintain the structural reliability of bridges and avoid future costly repairs. SDOT is not meeting this goal and only 22 out of its 77 bridges are in good condition.

The audit also notes that while SDOT should have a higher budget for bridge maintenance, it hasn’t spent what it has:

Since 2006, SDOT has spent 93 percent of its budget for bridge maintenance. From 2006 to 2019, Seattle budgeted $98.5 million for bridge maintenance and spent $91.9 million (see Exhibit 7, dollar amounts have been adjusted for inflation). As Exhibit 7 shows, the budget did not always align with actual expenditures on a year-by-year basis. Some of this is to be expected. For example, in 2008 SDOT underspent their bridge maintenance budget because they were saving funds for a large bridge painting project. This large painting project, the University Bridge, was completed in 2009. This use of funds that carryover from one year to the next occurs when the funding for these projects comes from the City’s Capital Improvement Program budget. SDOT officials told us the reason for the underspend between 2016 and 2018 was primarily because they did not have enough staff to perform planned maintenance activities.

SDOT estimates annual maintenance expenditures should be equivalent to one to three percent of the total replacement cost for the fixed assets being maintained, or, for bridges over 60 years old, a minimum of $34 million per year.

In a response letter that’s also included with the audit document, SDOT director Sam Zimbabwe blames the underspending on “that maintenance program delivery fluctuates based on work accrual and staff capacity.”

The audit also contains a critique of “some legacy practices and information gaps [that] hinder its ability to properly keep the bridge portfolio in a state of good repair,” with a declaration that “SDOT lacks critical information for developing a strategic bridge preservation program, including an assessment of the level and mix of staffing resources needed to maintain their bridges.”

One example reveals that SDOT bridge-maintenance staff doesn’t spend all its time on bridge maintenance:

One such practice is using bridge maintenance workers to perform reimbursable work, unrelated to SDOT bridges, for other agencies. SDOT estimates that 20 percent of their bridge maintenance staff capacity is dedicated to performing reimbursable work for other divisions within SDOT, other City departments, or other local governments. This means that two out of every ten hours of SDOT’s bridge inspection and maintenance crew work are not being used on the upkeep of Seattle’s bridges, but to help supplement the department’s budget. SDOT told us they lack the money to fully fund their bridge maintenance staff without the revenue from\ reimbursable work, which means they would need
to make reductions to stay within budget.

Plus, the audit says, “SDOT does not have information on what staffing levels are needed to support essential bridge maintenance, making it difficult to plan for and complete this work.”

The audit also observes that “SDOT does not currently calculate the useful life of its bridges in a precise way, which hinders its ability to efficiently respond to bridge maintenance needs.”

In SDOT’s reply, director Zimbabwe contends that “the issues that led to the closure of (the West Seattle Bridge) do not appear to be the result of any deficiency in our bridge maintenance program.”

Overall, the SDOT response also says it’ll take three years – until the end of 2023 – to make changes/additions responding to all the audit’s 10 recommendations, 9 of which the department says it fully agrees with.

The presentation of the audit is scheduled for Wednesday morning’s meeting of the council’s Transportation and Utilities Committee, 9:30 am; the agenda includes information on watching the meeting and signing up to comment. Meantime, here’s Councilmember Pedersen’s news release responding to the audit, and here’s the SDOT Blog post with how the department summarizes the audit and its own responses.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The “repair now, replace later” vs. “replace now” decision for the West Seattle Bridge is now as little as a month away.

Today’s West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting explored how the in-progress Cost-Benefit Analysis will “shape” that decision.

But the CTF briefings/discussion also spent significant time on the advisory group’s other focus – how people are supposed to get to and from the peninsula until that connection is restored. And when the “Reconnect West Seattle” plan hit the spotlight, one previously undiscussed element did too. Here’s our video of (all but the last few minutes of) the meeting:

Ahead, the highlights, including some of the slides (see the full deck here):
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(Photo by Tony Welch)

Tomorrow, the West Seattle Bridge closure will factor into a discussion at the City Council’s Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee: The issue: Should the city’s Comprehensive Plan be amended to consider the potential effects of a long-term closure? The plan can only be amended once a year, and tomorrow’s committee meeting takes up potential amendments that can’t advance without councilmembers voting to “docket” them. Amendments can be proposed by anyone inside or outside city government; the amendment that would take the bridge closure’s potential effects into consideration is proposed by Deb Barker, a community advocate whose current roles include membership on the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force. Almost since the start of the closure, she has advocated for the city to look at its effects beyond the basic matter of bridgelessness, and ways to mitigate them. The council staff report says that staffers recommend docketing it, though the Seattle Planning Commission and Office of Planning and Community Development do not. From the staff report:

Amendment with mixed recommendations

Amendment 2 would amend the Transportation Element and FLUM to address the effects of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge emergency closure. The proposal lists a wide range of changes related to the closure. Many of these proposals are regulatory in nature and would not affect the Comprehensive Plan. However, Central Staff recommend moving Amendment 2 forward because the Comprehensive Plan may need policy modifications to address the major, unexpected and potentially long-term impact to mobility in Seattle caused by the bridge closure. Considering whether changes to the Comprehensive Plan are merited due to this significant impact to the City’s infrastructure is prudent.

SPC and OPCD disagree. They conclude that the proposal would be better addressed through the budgetary and programmatic processes currently being coordinated by the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Tomorrow’s meeting also includes a public hearing and vote on two West Seattle amendments – a proposal to change the West Seattle Hub Urban Village boundaries to include Providence Mount St. Vincent, and additions to the Delridge Neighborhood Plan. The committee meets at 9:30 am tomorrow (Wednesday); the agenda explains how to watch and how to comment.

Bridge updates as we start the holiday-shortened workweek:

(Photo by Neal Chism)

CITY COUNCIL VOTES ON FUNDING: The plan for $70 million in “interfund” loans to finance the first stage of West Seattle Bridge work gets a final vote when councilmembers reconvene today after the two-week end-of-summer recess. This won unanimous Transportation Committee approval before the recess. More info is in the 2 pm meeting agenda.

BRIDGE STABILIZATION UPDATE: In case you haven’t seen this already, SDOT has published its second end-of-week update on the stabilization work, including this:

(This) week, the contractor is planning to:

(SDOT photo, on one of the under-bridge platforms)

-Complete the first phase of filling cracks with epoxy.
-Begin the second phase of crack injection towards the middle of the bridge.
-Continue to inspect cracks.
-Place carbon fiber wrap around recently filled cracks.
-Continue installing the post tensioning system.

During this work, you’ll see:

-Some crews working on top of and under the bridge.
-Scaffolding and crews working on platforms suspended under the bridge.

There’s additional work taking place inside the bridge – including monitoring cracks and preparing for the installation of additional post-tensioning strands – that you will not be able to see.

COMMUNITY TASK FORCE MEETS: 3 weeks after its last meeting, the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meets online Wednesday at noon. We hope to get the agenda and connection information from SDOT later today, but in the meantime, one known agenda item: The Reconnect West Seattle implementation plan. We’ve previewed the draft, and among other things, SDOT has slight revisions in the.mode-shift commuting goals – increasing the percentage of commutes it hopes will be made by bicycle next year to 10 percent, for one example (last year’s baseline was 1 percent):

In the 2019 Baseline, about 60 bicycles crossed the Duwamish per AM peak hour. The Lower Spokane Bridge can accommodate 400 – 1,000 bicycles per hour. To accommodate 1,000 bicycles per AM peak hour, SDOT will need to make substantive capital improvements across West Seattle.

The Reconnect WS plan has separate bicycle and freight sub-plans as well as four project lists for the areas most affected by bridge-detour traffic.
12:30 PM UPDATE: Here’s the link for watching tomorrow’s meeting, or use access code: 146 544 1172 after calling 408-418-9388.

AUDIT OF OTHER BRIDGES: Right after the sudden bridge shutdown took so many by surprise 5 1/2 months ago, Councilmember Alex Pedersen – who chairs the Transportation Committee – called for an audit of the city’s other bridges, to be sure no other surprises are lurking. He announced in this online update that the audit will be presented to his committee next week, on September 16th.

(WSB photos)

In The Junction today, volunteers are working – at a safe distance – to package the new contest-winning West Seattle Bridge T-shirts for mailing to everybody who ordered one! The orders followed the announcement four weeks ago of the three designs that won the community vote, “Accidental Island,” “Mind the Gap,” and “So Close Yet So Far.”

Above, Junction Association executive director Lora Radford is among those helping. So if you ordered one, watch the mail! And if you didn’t …

… no need to worry about a “gap” in being stylish – as originally announced, some Junction stores will be selling them, too, starting tomorrow. See the list on this page – or go there to order one (deadline September 21st for an October mailing).

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Though the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s August meeting featured four segments and four sets of guests, it was all about one topic: The five-months-closed West Seattle Bridge.

About 50 people attended Thursday night’s online meeting, including guest speakers and WSTC board members. Coalition chair Michael Taylor-Judd facilitated with assistance from board member Kate Wells. Here’s the group’s recording of the meeting:

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: The last guest was the headliner.

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(SDOT photo: Small “syringes” placed into affected areas, used to channel epoxy into cracks)

You’ve heard that stabilization work is under way on the five-months-closed West Seattle Bridge. So what EXACTLY is being done? SDOT just launched a new weekly email update. From the first one:

Kraemer North America, our contractor for the stabilization work, is on the bridge every Monday through Saturday from 6 AM to 4:30 PM to stabilize the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge. The stabilization work, which includes wrapping weakened areas of the bridge in carbon fiber, adding post-tensioning inside the girders, and epoxy-injecting cracks wider than 0.3mm, is expected to continue at a safe but expedited pace over the course of the next several months.

Next week, the contractor is planning to:

Continue to inspect cracks
Fill cracks with epoxy
Place carbon fiber wrap around recently filled cracks
Begin to install the post tensioning system

During this work, you will see some crews working on top and underneath the bridge. You will also see scaffolding and crews working on platforms suspended under the bridge. There is additional work taking place inside the bridge – including monitoring cracks and preparing for the installation of the additional post-tensioning strands – that you will not be able to see. We do not anticipate any additional traffic impacts from the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge construction work over the next couple weeks.

More bridge-related info is coming up this evening in our report on last night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting. Meantime, if you want to be on SDOT’s bridge-related mailing list, the subscription link is on this page.