West Seattle Bridge Ready To Reopen Sunday: SDOT

SEATTLE — City transportation crews will reopen the West Seattle Bridge Sunday, welcoming drivers back for the first time since March 2020, when growing cracks were discovered along the 40-year-old bridge span.

Crews began emergency repairs that year to shore up the bridge and prevent more damage and began work last year on a permanent fix. The city initially targeted a summer reopening, but a prolonged concrete labor dispute pushed the timeline into September.

Seattle leaders last month announced the Sept. 18 target date to reopen the bridge pending a final round of work, tests and inspections. On Thursday, the Seattle Department of Transportation said the bridge passed its final strength tests, confirming the structure was safe and ready to reopen.

The extensive list of repairs includes a new "post-tensioning system" inside the bridge, which required contractors to install dozens of miles of steel cables to bolster the "backbone" of the structure. Crews also wrapped carbon fiber sheets inside and outside the bridge and filled the cracks with epoxy.

The project also features a new monitoring system comprised of hundreds of sensors and cameras designed to detect subtle movements in the structure and any growth in cracks, providing inspectors with real-time information around the clock.

This week's strength testing utilized the new sensors to monitor the bridge as a dozen 40-ton dump trucks made their way across the deck.

"The bridge is stronger and safer now that we have repaired cracking and added nearly 60 miles of steel cable 'backbone' to the bridge, 100,000 square feet of carbon fiber wrapping, and 240 gallons of epoxy to fill cracks in the bridge’s concrete," SDOT wrote Thursday. "We are confident that the repaired bridge will stand strong for decades to come, fulfilling its original intended lifespan."