Latest milestone has West Seattle Bridge repairs ‘right on schedule’

The Seattle Department of Transportation announced another major milestone in its efforts to repair and reopen the West Seattle Bridge, alongside the unveiling of additional plans to build a new bike lane along West Marginal Way Southwest.

Mayor Durkan chooses to repair rather than replace West Seattle Bridge

In late May, SDOT tagged construction firm Kraemer North America to head up repair work on the bridge. Now, the city has finalized its contract with the company and submitted its intermediate design plans, allowing Kraemer to review them for “opportunities to maximize efficiency and expedite schedules.”

“This means that Kraemer can now begin contacting suppliers for the custom-made materials necessary to finish repairs,” SDOT said in a Wednesday blog post. “They will also be bringing in local talent to rehabilitate the bridge as we continue to pursue a community workforce agreement.”

This has the city “right on schedule” to have its design plans finalized by September.

Repairing the bridge is expected to return service to West Seattle drivers by the middle of 2022. SDOT believes it can get 15-40 years of life out of the bridge with this $47 million repair.

Workers finished the first phase of stabilization last December, after coating epoxy injections with carbon-fiber wraps to slow the spread of cracks. The next phase will involve the addition of more carbon fiber wrapping “to increase bridge strength.”

History of the West Seattle Bridge

Once the bridge reopens, SDOT plans to install a new bike lane on West Marginal Way Southwest, as the final piece of a network running between South Park and the West Seattle Bridge Trail. The decision was made “after comprehensive traffic data analysis, which predicts that adding the new bike lane will have minimal impacts on the number of vehicles that use the street and how long it takes to drive in the area.”

“Better, safer bike lanes make riding a bike a more viable transportation option around the city,” SDOT laid out on Wednesday. “As we prepare for our new normal, Seattle has the opportunity to build lasting, positive change toward a more livable, safer city for all.”

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