The northbound SR 99 First Avenue Bridge in Seattle got stuck in the open position on Wednesday, causing long backups during the morning commute.
Traffic was diverted off South Holden Street, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance crews were on-site, troubleshooting at around 6:30 a.m.
By 7:30 a.m., the bridge was still stuck, with residual traffic backups of nearly three miles on SR 509.
By 8 a.m., WSDOT reported seeing backups of more than a mile on SR 99 and 3-plus miles on SR 509 while WSP troopers and WSDOT crews worked to clear vehicles stuck in the backup.
At 9:43 a.m., WSDOT confirmed that the bridge was back down and all lanes were reopened.
CLEARED: All lanes of the NB SR 99 First Ave S Bridge in Seattle have reopened. https://t.co/wFbAckJj3Y
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) April 8, 2026
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