West Seattle Bridge To Close For Critical Repairs

SEATTLE, WA — The West Seattle bridge is closing Monday night for critical repairs. The Seattle Department of Transportation is electing to completely shut down the bridge after discovering a series of cracks and structural concerns that could endanger drivers.

The bridge is scheduled to close at 7 p.m. Monday. It is unknown when the repairs may be finished or the bridge reopened.

After the news broke Monday afternoon, King County Executive Dow Constantine issued a statement on the closure, promising to set up alternate routes for commuters who normally use the bridge:

"As a lifelong West Seattleite, I know how difficult it can be for the 80,000 or so of us on the peninsula when connections with the rest of the region are interrupted. We will do everything in our power to make sure West Seattle has strong transit alternatives during bridge repair.”

Constantine has also promised to increase the number of sailings by the King County Water Taxi.

The closure will have widespread impacts: as the Seattle Times' Mike Lindblom notes, on an average day the bridge supports over a hundred thousand drivers.