‘30 truckloads from the finish line’: West Seattle Bridge reopening jeopardized by concrete strike

The West Seattle Bridge has been closed since March 2020, and while the bridge was originally timed for reopening in June 2022, city leaders are concerned that the materials needed for repair are being throttled by Teamsters 174’s strike with the region’s concrete suppliers.

In a news conference last week, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine marked Feb. 20, 2022, as the “drop dead” date for delivery resumption of SDOT’s concrete supply before West Seattle Bridge repairs are delayed.

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Mayor Harrell pointed out that specialized concrete blocks are required to hold the bridge’s steel cables for support and strength, and the relevant materials requests are due by Feb. 20 to maintain a repair schedule at the current 60 hours a week schedule.

“We are just 245 yards – fewer than 30 truckloads – from the finish line. I call on concrete suppliers to reach agreement with Teamsters Local 174 as soon as possible to ensure completion of the West Seattle Bridge repair is as scheduled,” Councilmember Lisa Herbold wrote in a news release.

Herbold noted that the West Seattle Bridge repair is an “emergency project” that, while in progress, cuts off businesses and workers on the West Seattle peninsula from the rest of the city. She adds that the bridge has been in use for 40 years, and the rest of the region’s transportation system is built around it.

As of Feb. 13, negotiations between Teamsters 174 and the six concrete suppliers remain at an impasse. Late last week, the union, which represents 300 striking workers, appeared on the steps of one the suppliers, Gary Merlino Construction, to demand talks continue after negotiations failed with a federal mediator in late January.

In a joint news release on behalf of Glacier, Stoneway, Salmon Bay, and Cadman, the suppliers named the event “an orchestrated media obstacle” and called on Teamsters 174’s secretary-treasurer to speak with “the Western Regional Director FMCS and [work] through her to arrange for a meeting as the Companies desired and communicated at the end of the mediation session of January 20.”

“We believe a controlled and professional negotiation with a federal mediator is the best way for the parties to arrive at a settlement,” the release stated.

In December, SDOT reported that it was in the final stages of the West Seattle Bridge’s repair, telling KIRO Newsradio that more than 91 tons of additional steel cable, carbon fiber, and the filling of concrete cracks with epoxy are among the final fixes to be made.

“Repair of the West Seattle bridge remains one of the City of Seattle’s highest priorities,” Mayor Harrell noted in a Feb. 9 news conference. “While the Seattle Department of Transportation, contractors, and community partners have worked tirelessly to keep the West Seattle Bridge reopening on track for mid-2022, this continued strike threatens to delay that schedule.”

“For an on-time opening, concrete companies and workers must return to mediation and reach a fair agreement – further delay and uncertainty is untenable for hundreds of thousands of neighbors across West Seattle, our city, and the entire region.”

KIRO Newsradio’s Chris Sullivan contributed to this report. 

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