Two-week closure of South Spokane Street/West Seattle Bridge on-ramp to northbound SR 99 starts April 18

By Sean Quinn – Washington State Department of Transportation

Drivers who use South Spokane Street to get to northbound State Route 99 in Seattle should prepare for a two-week closure starting at 6 am Monday, April 18. The on-ramp from South Spokane Street and the West Seattle Bridge to northbound SR 99 in Seattle will fully close for repairs, so drivers should plan to use alternate routes for two weeks.

A hole in the ramp from the West Seattle Bridge to SR 99 will require a 2-week closure for repairs. SDOT Photo

What happened?

On every elevated structure we have, be it a ramp, bridge or overpass that is off the ground, the surface of each structure of roadway is called a deck. This past January, the South Spokane Street and West Seattle Bridge on-ramp to northbound SR 99 had a hole open up on the roadway and will need to be repaired to maintain structural integrity.

A plate over the hole on the ramp has allowed traffic to remain open while repairs were designed.

The hole was covered by a steel plate and is safe to drive over as we are monitoring it daily. But in order to make permanent repairs, we’ll need to remove the plate and repair the deck beneath.

The rebar will need to be repaired as part of the work on the ramp.

What we’re doing

We are going to break up and remove the concrete around the hole all the way through to the girders underneath the surface to expose the rebar. The rebar strengthens the concrete under the tension of vehicles driving over it. Once we chip the concrete, we will repair the rebar and then pour concrete to fill the void where the hole in the deck used to be. That process will take about a week. To finish, we’ll need an additional week while the ramp remains closed for the concrete to cure. We need dry weather in order for the concrete to cure properly so the schedule may change depending on the weather.

A look at where the ramp work will take place.

Stay in the loop

Be sure to follow @wsdot_traffic on Twitter for updates on the maintenance work, including closure/reopening dates and times. As always, please keep our crews, yourself, and others safe by driving cautiously through work zones. We know detour routes can take getting used to, so give yourself extra time to reach your destination and stay aware so our crews can get this work done safely.