Crews to raise work platforms up to high-rise West Seattle Bridge

Monday marks another important milestone in the effort to fix the West Seattle Bridge. Crews will be raising the two remaining large work platforms from barges in the Duwamish River up to the high-rise bridge. The barge below is moved from section to section as workers wrap the cracking concrete with carbon fiber.

Tolling in the mix as a funding option to pay for West Seattle Bridge fix 

The Seattle Department of Transportation says this work will allow them to move to the next phase of construction. Shoring up the bridge is work that needs to be done whether replacement or repair is the chosen path long term.

If repair is deemed to be possible, SDOT does not anticipate the bridge reopening in 2021. The soonest it would reopen to traffic would be 2022.

The city believes the bridge can be repaired, as does the Technical Advisory Panel helping the city, but it has not yet decided if it should be repaired. Repair and replacement options are both being considered. The city does not know how much either option will cost. A cost-benefit analysis is underway and should be completed by the fall.

SDOT says a plan is expected to be recommended by October 2020.

Earlier in July, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan declared a civil emergency over the ongoing closure of the West Seattle Bridge. This is the first time a mayor of Seattle has declared a civil emergency in response to a piece of infrastructure.

The declaration allows the city to speed up the permitting and contract procurement process. It can also ask for state and federal funding for the traffic mitigation plans currently being created to deal with the loss of the high bridge.

The KIRO Radio Newsdesk contributed to this report.

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