The West Seattle Bridge is closed until further notice. Mayor Jenny Durkan said the bridge “cannot safely support vehicular traffic at this time” at a press conference called yesterday after the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) detected worsening cracking in girders supporting the 36-year-old bridge, which serves as the primary artery to the West Seattle peninsula–home to more than 80,000 residents.
SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe said the closure could last months to properly diagnose the issue and complete the repair work.
The bridge carries more than 100,000 daily trips under normal circumstances–which are not what we have right now. In fact, at a 5:30pm press conference Governor Jay Inslee issued a stay-at-home order across Washington state to contain the spread of COVID-19. Only essential businesses will be allowed to stay open, and local authorities will be empowered to enforce the order if necessary.
Residents are permitted a daily constitutional walk or run, which the Governor said is necessary to maintain good mental health during the order, which will last at least two weeks. Some epidemiologists have recommended stay-at-home quarantining last months to reverse the momentum COVID-19 has built while America twiddled its thumbs.
The silver lining in the West Seattle Bridge closure news is that vehicular traffic and transit ridership has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, which will make detours easier to arrange. Last report was that transit ridership was down nearly 70% on Sound Transit and King County Metro, which have both reduced service and instituted back-door fare-free boarding to help protect bus drivers from viral transmission. Meanwhile, car crashes are down 76%, which suggests automobile traffic has likewise nose-dived.
