Sea-Tac arrivals ramp shut down, causing significant delays
Sep 27, 2022, 11:12 AM | Updated: 11:55 am
Photo by Sam Campbell
The lower-level baggage claim road at Sea-Tac International Airport was closed overnight for construction work, causing delays getting into the airport and traffic in the surrounding area.
At midnight last night, crews began the work of demolishing an unused ramp on the Lower Arrivals Drive.
Sea-Tac Airport explains what led to 2.5 hour security lines that stretched to the parking garage
Officials say the ramp wasn’t used anymore, and now with the extra space, the Port of Seattle wants to expand access with more lanes to “streamline the approach and pick up experience” at the airport.
Significant progress on the project has already started, with the north and south sections of the ramp already removed, as they work to complete the project this week.
The airport hopes to have this phase of its road-widening project done by Saturday — until then, the arrivals level will be closed every night from 12 to 7 a.m. as crews work to bring down the ramp.
Courtesy vehicles, such as hotel/motel and parking shuttles, were relocated to the Cruise/Charter Lot on the first floor of the airport parking garage, and rental car facility buses were relocated to doors 11 to 13 on the upper departures drive.
Traffic was heavily backed up this morning, forcing travelers to head out earlier if they wanted to catch their flights on time.
“It was crazy, we come here all the time and it was quite backed up,” said one traveler at the airport.
Another flier told KIRO Newsradio they expected the delays and got to the airport two hours ahead of time.
Sea-Tac officials recommend accounting for the heavy traffic in the area in order to catch your flight on time.
“We are expecting it to be very congested. It won’t be an easy ride up the drive,” Perry Cooper with Sea-Tac said in an email to KIRO Newsradio. “My suggestion would be to go to the south entrance of the garage on S 182nd Street, go there and drop off, go across the sky bridge, then when you leave, you can go out the garage exit and never get stuck in the drives.”
Full details of the closure can be found on the Port of Seattle website.
