West Seattle, Washington
09 Thursday
7:48 AM: Thanks to those who’ve sent word of this via Facebook/Twitter – a garbage truck has broken down on northbound 99, at Atlantic per Kim (where there’s no shoulder), and that’s not only backing up 99, it’s affecting the bridge and its approaches. If you haven’t left yet, consider alternate routes, or waiting a while. (You can see the backups on the WSB Traffic page – the 1st Avenue South Bridge looks pretty busy too, though.)
8:08 AM: Via Twitter, @mental404 also warns of “a broken-down town car on the bridge just before the Delridge onramp.” Metro is rerouting some buses.
8:20 AM: Tow truck has arrived, per KING 5’s Tracy Taylor. But with the backup stretching all the way back across the 1st Avenue S. Bridge (and apparently then some) as well as the West Seattle Bridge, that won’t be an instant fix.
8:41 AM: As Lou reports in the comment section, the stuck truck has been towed. The stalled car on the bridge is apparently gone, too. Metro just sent word the buses are back to regular routing.
11:40 AM: We’re trying to sleuth why the trash-truck tow apparently took two hours. Will update this story whenever we get the info!
(Latest “live” picture of the northbound Viaduct, looking south from the tunnel vicinity)
7:02 AM: Just got first word of trouble that might affect your commute: Greg e-mailed to say the Battery Street Tunnel on northbound 99 was closed as of 6:20 am. KING 5 traffic reporter Tracy Taylor reports a crash in that area. The traffic cam view doesn’t look too backed up at this point, but we’ll keep watch till 9 or so – and if you encounter trouble, let us know (when you can do so safely, of course!). As for the weather: The wind advisory is no longer in effect, but rain is supposed to continue through the day, so that’s what we’ll be tracking today.
7:42 AM: The Battery Street Tunnel problem is gone, per comments, but via FB, Sage notes from on board a bus – “Verrry slow getting onto the bridge from Avalon on the 21 right now. Looking ugly.”
(Latest “live” picture of the northbound Viaduct, looking south from the tunnel vicinity)
Multiple reports that the bridge is much worse than usual this morning – and we’ve finally seen one possible explanation for current trouble: Via Twitter, SDOT says there’s a stalled vehicle blocking lanes on northbound 99 at the Battery Street Tunnel. Not much help if you’re already out in the middle of it but if you tend to commute later, maybe best not to leave for a while.
Since so many West Seattleites commute from/through downtown, and this is an unannounced event, here’s an FYI – a protest reported to be affiliated with Occupy Seattle is blocking Pine Street between 4th and 6th. So says Metro, which notes that the routes currently affected including 125, which serves part of West Seattle and White Center. (6:24 PM NOTE: Via Twitter, SPD reports four arrests.)
ORIGINAL 2:55 PM REPORT: Just in from WSDOT:
The right lane of southbound SR 99, approximately ½ mile north of the West Seattle Bridge, is closed for emergency road repair work. The lane will be closed through the evening commute. During the 6-hour closure, crews will place a steel plate in the lane. When the road reopens, motorcyclists should use extra caution near the steel plates. The 40 mph speed limit will not change.
ADDED 3:31 PM: On the WSB Facebook page, at least one person with a view of the Viaduct says it’s already a mess.
5:35 PM UPDATE: WSDOT has reopened the lane hours earlier than projected.
LATE-NIGHT UPDATE: And WSDOT says it’s closed again.
SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: And … reopened.
And another traffic alert – this one for next week. The next westbound closures of the Spokane Street Viaduct (that’s the West Seattle Bridge between Highway 99 and I-5) have just been announced for every weeknight next week, 10 pm-5 am, Monday (November 7th)-Friday (Nov. 11th). You will NOT be able to get onto the WS Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill during these closures, but the exit from southbound 99 will be open. (Detour info here.) Like previous westbound closures, this is because of the ongoing Spokane St. Viaduct Widening Project.
Need to pass through downtown and/or SODO to get home tonight? Beware! This just in from SDOT:
The afternoon commute could become a little dicey later today. Occupy Seattle will hold a protest rally and march in downtown Seattle starting at 6 p.m. A crowd of more than 500 people is expected to gather at the north end of Westlake Park at Fourth Avenue and Pine Street for the rally. Between 6:30 and 7 p.m. the protesters will move to the Sheraton Hotel on Sixth Avenue between Union and Pike streets. Seattle Police will escort the marchers south on Fifth Avenue to Union street, east on Union to Sixth Avenue, and north on Sixth to Pike Street. Given the size of the expected throng of protesters, the march will likely be in the street so motorists should plan to avoid the area to avoid delays.
At the other end of downtown at 7 p.m., the Seattle Sounders will be drawing over 40,000 scarf-waving fans at CenturyLink Field. They’ll take on the Real Salt Lake soccer club for the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals. Expect traffic around the stadium to be very congested before and after the match.
The Water Taxi is on its winter schedule now and is NOT extending for sporting events, according to the county.
(More cams on the WSB Traffic page; travel times on the city Travelers’ Info map)
Good morning! No problems so far; we’re on commute patrol again, with the Alaskan Way Viaduct still closed (but still on schedule to reopen by 5 am Monday). First West Seattle Water Taxi run: 56 people. High bridge busy, as has been the case at this hour all week. More updates to come.
6:30 AM UPDATE: Weather’s dry till post-commute, per our friends at KING 5. They also are providing a new view of the high bridge this morning, covering the bus-lane crackdown from the side of the road – police are out one more time. Plenty of traffic. Meantime, commensurate with the lower-than-earlier-this-week Water Taxi ridership in the very-early going, the Don Armeni parking lot is wide open.
6:45 AM UPDATE: Status quo: High bridge busy, low bridge not (per KING’s helicopter view a few minutes back). Water Taxi carrying 63 people.
7 AM UPDATE: Same thing. If anything, maybe a little less traffic this morning (three-day weekend, anyone?).
7:15 AM UPDATE: 100 on this run of the Water Taxi. The high bridge is looking better than last hour, NOT crawling as you come off Fauntleroy, but slowing once you get around the 99 exit.
7:30 AM UPDATE: Quiet!
7:45 AM UPDATE: Link Apartments (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle to SPU in less than 20 minutes, tweets Whitney. … 94 on this run of the Water Taxi. As noted earlier this morning, the WT switches to its winter schedule on Monday – weekdays only, commute periods only. So this is the last weekend you’ll be able to take it till next spring.
8 AM UPDATE: Still smooth sailing.
8:15 AM UPDATE: High bridge moving along, not slowing till the usual point around 99. No trouble spots reported anywhere in the immediate commute zone. Awaiting the 8:15 Water Taxi report before our crew wraps up its week of hanging out at Seacrest in the mornings … here it is: 81.
8:30 AM UPDATE: If you go get on the Viaduct (what’s left of it) northbound at Royal Brougham, no traffic trouble there either, and we haven’t heard of any major backups along 1st or 4th this morning for those heading that way.
8:57 AM UPDATE: So quiet, we forgot the 8:45 update. We’ll of course pick up the traffic coverage again for the commute home tonight, since PM has been worse than AM for most of the week. And if the Viaduct opens earlier than scheduled, or if any problems erupt over the weekend, we’ll have traffic updates Saturday-Sunday too. Monday morning, we will be on early watch as well, since the new configuration of 99 could mean some complications until people get used to it. P.S. In case you were wondering … Daylight Saving Time ends one week from Sunday (so you switch your clock the night of Saturday, November 5th).
9:49 PM: Police are blocking off the Delridge offramp from the westbound West Seattle Bridge because of a crash toward the bottom of the ramp. Surface traffic may be affected too. No details on the crash circumstances – the level of fire dispatch does not suggest major injuries – but avoid the area for a while.
10:30 PM UPDATE: Police just announced (scanner) that the offramp is reopening. The “gore point” at the ramp’s bottom, however, was described as “demolished,” and a city crew was being called out to fix it ASAP.
Just a reminder, since this was announced only yesterday: TONIGHT, 10 pm-5 am, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct – that’s the West Seattle Bridge between I-5 and Highway 99 – is scheduled to be closed for work related to the ongoing widening project. That means you will not be able to access the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill.
And suddenly, there is one more closure in the mix – this afternoon, SDOT announced that tomorrow (Thursday) night, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed, 10 pm to 5 am. That’s the section of the West Seattle Bridge between I-5 and Highway 99. While it’s closed during that time frame, you will not be able to get to the bridge from I-5, but you will be able to reach it from 99. SDOT says this closure, part of the ongoing project to widen that section of the bridge, is “to test techniques for preparing old deck for new paving.”
(“Live” image looking westward at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge – refresh for latest)
6:50 AM: Thanks to everybody who has called/texted/e-mailed with word of an eastbound backup on the West Seattle Bridge that’s worse than you’d usually find at this hour. The 911 log lists a crash that apparently did not have major injuries but, according to multiple tipsters, involved three vehicles, so it may take a while to clear. (Late-morning addendum: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore confirms no one was hurt.)
7:10 AM: The crash is described as “at Admiral,” which on the eastbound side means “parallel with.” You can check the various bridge and feeder views (we’re watching them too) from the WSB Traffic page. One WSB’er says via e-mail that the crash involves “two SUVs and one small sedan.”
7:36 AM: Via Twitter, we have a report about the feeder-street backup – half an hour from the Fauntleroy neighborhood and she hadn’t even reached SW Alaska (blocks BEFORE the 35th/Fauntleroy bridge entrance) yet. Adding a “live” bridge image atop this story – refresh the page for the latest view. The crash scene isn’t visible from the existing bridge angles, so if you get through and know whether it’s been cleared, please let us know (once you reach your destination!).
7:52 AM: Via Facebook, Margie says the crash scene itself has been cleared. Backups will take a while. Alex is trying to get to 509 via Holden – on the southeast side of WS – and he’s hit a backup too.
8:24 AM: Most reports say things are getting better, finally. But the hair-raising-commute stories are still coming in – via Twitter, @206SportsFan says, “One hour from Morgan Junction to Luna Park via bus. … New personal ‘best’ worst.” Jana also commuted by bus and tweeted the photo above, after finally reaching the Avalon turnoff on Fauntleroy.
One more reminder if you are, or are heading, downtown or beyond – tonight’s westbound Spokane Street Viaduct closure is scheduled to last longer than previous ones – this time, it’s set to start at 10 pm and continue all day and all night Saturday, until 10 am Sunday. (We’ll publish an update, of course, if it reopens early.) That means the only high-bridge access westbound during that time will be from Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct – the I-5 and Beacon Hill ramps will be closed.
Thursday means that SDOT is out with its citywide weekend traffic advisory – till event season ends later in fall – and the Mobile Chowdown that’ll fill the heart (and bellies) of The Junction on Sunday is among the biggies on the list. Also please note – as linked atop our BIG STORIES list under traffic/weather in the WSB sidebar – the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct (the bridge between I-5 and Highway 99) is scheduled to be closed 10 pm Friday to 10 am Sunday, and that includes the I-5 exits to West Seattle. Other weekend traffic details ahead:Read More
(TOPLINE, 3:56 PM: New information from police; motorcyclist reported to be in serious condition – details below
7:20 AM: Thanks to everyone for the texts/calls – at least two lanes are blocked on the eastbound high bridge because of what multiple reports say is a motorcycle crash. The latest traffic cams are here.
7:43 AM UPDATE: We’ve added a “live” image from one of the bridge cams above (refresh the page for the latest). And now there’s a separate incident: The ramp from Delridge has a medic response – reported to be a woman in labor.
7:50 AM UPDATE: The situation on the high-rise is NOT likely to clear any time soon. Scanner indicates that the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is being called in, as the motorcyclist is reported to have “critical” injuries. Their work usually takes a few hours. If you are headed downtown or further north, 1st Avenue South Bridge or low West Seattle Bridge might be better options.
8:18 AM UPDATE: We’re checking the feeder routes. 35th SW northbound currently backed up to The Mount.
8:47 AM UPDATE: Anecdotal reports via Twitter and Facebook indicate that while, as you can see in the “live” image above, those two right lanes are still blocked, the rest of the flow is moving more smoothly. We also have a report from Alex, who got downtown in half an hour by detouring from Morgan Junction to Roxbury to 509 to 99 – if you aren’t familiar with that route, it’s worth exploring someday when you’re not under “get to work” pressure, so you know it for future reference.
9:12 AM UPDATE: Thanks to the WSB’er who shared that video of the investigation on the bridge shoulder as the 125 bus went by. We’ll continue to update this story till the lanes clear (you can refresh to see the latest version of the “live” bridge cam image above, too – those are investigation vehicles in the right lanes right now).
9:27 AM UPDATE: Investigators have cleared the scene and all bridge lanes are now open. We are following up to see what we can find out about the crash victim (and also about the woman in labor from the Delridge ramp). *added* SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says the motorcyclist is a man in his mid-50s and was taken to the hospital in “serious” condition; he says the woman is in her late 20s and did not deliver at roadside – she was taken to a hospital.
3:56 PM UPDATE: Police have now released more details via SPD Blotter, saying the motorcyclist crashed while trying to avoid getting hit by a car:
On September 27th, at approximately 6:53 am, a 1998 BMW driven by a 47 year old female was travelling eastbound on the West Seattle Bridge in the far left lane, on the downhill grade approaching the northbound SR-99 exit. The BMW was attempting to change lanes when the BMW nearly collided with a 2007 Yamaha motorcycle that was also travelling eastbound in the “Bus Only” lane. The 53 year old male motorcycle rider took evasive action by applying heavy rear-braking which caused the rear wheel of the motorcycle to lock. The motorcycle continued skidding its rear wheel for a considerable distance until it lost control.
The motorcyclist suffered head and facial injuries and was transported to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition. The driver of the BMW was screened for impairment, but it was determined that the driver was not impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) responded and processed the scene. They will continue to follow up on this investigation.
Just in from SDOT, the next round of Spokane Street Viaduct closures, westbound only, and this time it’s for a big chunk of the weekend:
The contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to widen the Spokane Street Viaduct will close both westbound lanes of the structure from 10 PM on Friday, September 30, to 10 AM on Sunday, October 2, to pour deck spans at the east end of the project. The westbound lanes will be closed from west of I-5 to the Alaskan Way Viaduct. All eastbound lanes on the Spokane Street Viaduct will remain open.
During the closure, southbound I-5 traffic will be directed to the S Forest Street exit to access surface streets leading to the lower Spokane Street Swing Bridge. Northbound I-5 traffic and westbound traffic from Columbian Way will be detoured to surface streets at 6th Avenue South to the detour route leading to the swing bridge. Signage will be posted to direct drivers along these routes.
Motorists will also still be able to use southbound SR-99 to access the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge.
And again, “Spokane Street Viaduct” refers to the stretch of the West Seattle Bridge between I-5 and Highway 99.
California SW between Edmunds and Hudson is done, and now the SDOT crews have moved on to SW Avalon Way, where they were working just south of the bridge onramp when we went by a little while ago. One lane is open each way, and the businesses are open, but give yourself extra time if you’re going through the area. They’re scheduled to keep working southward, with more work on Monday, and possibly Tuesday.
For everybody who commutes through/to SODO, take note of this alert from SDOT:
Annual Microsoft Employee Meeting at Safeco Field tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. – 3:30 or 4 p.m. Gates open at 9 a.m. 200 buses, 4,000 cars expected to arrive with 18,000-20,000 attendees between 8:30 and 10 a.m. Most will depart by 5 p.m.
Cars will park in the Safeco Field Garage and the CenturyLink Garage, with some using nearby lots and garages. Buses will unload and load riders at the following locations:
(1) 3rd Ave S between Royal Brougham and Holgate
(2) Occidental from Royal Brougham north to Railroad Ave in front of the CenturyLink Event Ctr
(3) Occidental between Edgar Martinez Dr and Massachusetts St at the Safeco Field Garage Plaza
(4) 1st Ave S west curb from Royal Brougham north to end of sidewalk where SR99 ramps block the sidewalk.
Buses will arrive via the I-90 HOV exit to 5th Ave S or I-90 mainline exit to 4th Ave S. Seattle Police will provide traffic controls similar to ball games.
SDOT has just sent word that the “spot paving” work originally scheduled for the rest of this week on California SW south of The Junction and on Avalon Way through the Luna Park business district is now delayed at least a day from the original schedule because of equipment challenges. So California SW is not expected to start before tomorrow; Avalon, not before Friday.
It’s still technically summer, and around the city, there’s a busy slate of festivities over the next four days. SDOT is already out with its weekend traffic-alert roundup. Note that this ONLY includes events they believe might affect traffic. As such, the only West Seattle event mentioned is the WS Junction Car Show, 8 am-4 pm on Sunday, since it’s closing California SW in The Junction between SW Oregon and SW Edmunds (which means some bus re-routing, too). Read on for the entire citywide list:Read More
Thanks to Holly for the tip: If you drive Glenn Way between Oregon and Genesee (map) on the west edge of The Junction, note that a downed utility line is blocking one lane. No outage or crash listed online, so we don’t know the cause, but she says that despite warning cones, a few vehicles already have driven right over it. Nothing else unusual reported so far this morning, in WS or outbound (another reminder, we’ve recently added a few more cams to the WSB Traffic page).
Thanks to Bradly for the heads-up on a stalled car in the eastbound center lane on The Bridge – one of the bridge cams was even pointed at it when we took the screengrab above. (For the latest version, refresh the page and look at the “Traffic and Weather” view of the bridge atop the right sidebar – also note that if you click the bridge visual, it’ll take you to the WSB Traffic page with more cameras, and if you click the temperature icon below it, it’ll take you to our experimental – more features to be added, as we check how well the current ones work – WSB Weather page.)
If the reports we received are any indication, more than a few people are still stuck in this morning’s outbound-commute traffic, with bridge feeders like Avalon and Fauntleroy backed up more than usual, too. We’re checking with SDOT on whether anything in particular is to blame. In the meantime, here’s their weekly roundup of big events citywide that might affect traffic **this weekend** – read on:Read More
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