SEATTLE — Traffic across the SR 99 First Avenue South bridge is moving again an hourslong shutdown on the northbound side Wednesday morning.
The northbound lanes were closed after they were stuck in the bridge’s “open” position up in the air. Backups stretched for miles on SR 509 as drivers attempted to detour.
“There were some people this morning that were two, three hours late to work,” said Nial Stewart, who managed to avoid the bridge but got stuck in the detour. He said he was about an hour late to work.
“Got up and looked out the window, and the whole bridge was stopped,” said Teri Hanson, who lives nearby.
The issue on the bridge comes weeks after emergency repairs led to shutdowns and reduced speeds on the northbound side of the bridge in March.
Crews identified cracks in the bridge’s steel deck grates on the northbound side in February. The next phase of emergency repairs will begin in late April.
WSDOT is looking at a series of full weekend closures between April and May, with possible weeknight closures as well.
Detours will be the same as the March closure.
WSDOT officials have stressed this work could be less impactful due to their aim of avoiding busy weekdays.
The goal is to complete the work ahead of the World Cup.
Additional construction will need to be completed in 2027, though specifics and a schedule have not been announced.
The cost of the project has not been announced.
Learn more about the project here.