West Seattle Bridge will be closed through 2021, or forever

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The West Seattle Bridge will remain closed to traffic through 2021, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

“We will need to replace the West Seattle High Bridge, the question is when,” SDOT said in a news release on Wednesday.

The city of Seattle plans to shore up the bridge and hopes to re-open it to traffic, but it’s not sure if it is technically feasible or makes financial sense.

SDOT has been monitoring cracks on the bridge since 2013. It has accelerated exponentially in 2020. New cracking was discovered on the bridge on March 23, which SDOT said confirmed that growth had quickly increased over the previous two weeks. The bridge was closed to traffic that night.

https://mynorthwest.com/1817559/west-seattle-bridge-closed-2021/

Looks like the current structure is not yet 36 years old having opened on July 14, 1984

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Seattle_Bridge

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Is it a design related problem or a maintence problem?

How important is this bridge to Seattle? I would think it is probably really important if it spans the waterways.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. It's the main thoroughfare for most to get to and from West Seattle

There are other routes but not as direct.