West Seattle residents react to potential bridge reopening delay

SEATTLE — Andrea Ference’s life hasn’t been the same since the West Seattle Bridge closed.

Her 15-minute commute grew to more than an hour.

“I quit my job on First Hill because I couldn’t do the commute anymore and now, just to go anywhere in the city, I don’t go. I’ll do everything I can to stay in West Seattle,” she said Thursday.

City officials plan to have the cracked bridge fixed and reopened in the middle of this year.

But Mayor Bruce Harrell said Wednesday if a concrete worker strike isn’t settled by Feb. 20, reopening the bridge could face a “significant delay.”

“The reality is this will have a negative impact on the West Seattle Bridge project if not settled soon,” Harrell said.

The city closed the bridge suddenly in March 2020 after cracks were discovered.

The primary route in and out of West Seattle now involves a long detour.

At Easy Street Records and Café, a West Seattle institution, Jameson Petgrave said, “We’ve gone this far without the bridge so I’m like, whatever, it’s just another obstacle.”

Another customer, Rob Jack, said traveling to and from West Seattle is so cumbersome, he has trouble convincing family members to visit him from Magnolia.

“It’s horrible, I kind of feel like we’re living on an island,” he said.

SDOT officials say the length of any delay will depend on how long the strike goes on.

Contractors are looking at options like forming all the concrete elements at once to reduce the number of pours and prioritizing work that doesn’t require concrete.

Whitney Moore, executive director of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, wrote, “We hope for an expedited resolution between the two parties and for our long-awaited West Seattle Bridge repair project to be able to resume as planned.”

Martin Westerman, vice chair of the West Seattle Transportation Coalition, wrote that “settling this strike, and completing the bridge repair project should be the Mayor’s and City Council’s highest priorities.”

On Wednesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the county is seeking one or more concrete suppliers to guarantee enough supply to meet the needs of county construction projects over the next three to six years.

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