Concrete deliveries to West Seattle Bridge resume; no updated timeline for reopening
Apr 5, 2022, 11:28 AM | Updated: 11:30 am
Crews at the West Seattle Bridge (SDOT)
(SDOT)
Following an ongoing industry strike that has jeopardized the scheduled completion of repairs on the West Seattle Bridge originally set for mid-2022, concrete deliveries to the project resumed on Tuesday morning.
West Seattle Bridge reopening jeopardized by concrete strike
Seattle-area concrete delivery drivers have been on strike since December. In February, local leaders began to raise concerns that the strike would threaten to push back the timeline for work on the bridge were deliveries not to resume.
In March, the union which represents the drivers — Teamsters Local 174 — agreed to fold select strike lines to get construction of certain key infrastructure projects, like the West Seattle Bridge, back on track.
Cadman, the concrete supplier for the West Seattle Bridge repair project, began submitting their concrete mix designs in late March. Those designs have been approved, and the pouring for expansion joints will begin with trucks now on site.
As for whether that means repairs will now be completed on time, the Seattle Department of Transportation did not share an estimate on an updated timeline, citing how they “now need to see how the deliveries will go and manage the pours for the next month or so.”
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“After the pours are done and the work inspected, we’ll be able to revisit the project schedule and share an update about the timing of the reopening, originally scheduled for mid-2022,” SDOT said in a Tuesday press release.
Although negotiations between concrete drivers and suppliers are still ongoing, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell says that he is “continuing to have intense discussions with both sides to urge a fair resolution to this contract dispute,” while lauding the resumption of deliveries to the West Seattle Bridge as “an encouraging step.”
“We still have plenty of bridge repair work ahead, and I continue to receive regular updates from SDOT as we seek to understand how the strike may affect the reopening schedule – if at all,” he added.
