White Center Now: The blog about White Center

WSDOT has added two more days to the repair closure of the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge:

The timeline for crews to complete temporary emergency repairs of the northbound State Route 99 First Avenue South bridge has been extended to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 13.

Washington State Department of Transportation bridge maintenance crews have been working to modify existing grated panels and install steel plates over the cracked grates to restore safe vehicle access across all lanes since the full closure began on Monday morning, March 9.

Damage is more extensive than inspectors initially thought and the work to realign the area where the two spans of the bridge meet is very precise and methodical. This area experiences some of the greatest stress on the bridge as vehicles travel across it. Carefully adjusting this section of the bridge helps to create a smoother transition and reduces stress where the two spans meet.

As a reminder, this work is intended to immediately stabilize the bridge and reopen all lanes to traffic before the second phase of work begins in mid-to-late April, when contractor crews working for WSDOT will replace the worst of the failing panels before summer. The third phase of this work is a full replacement of the northbound bridge deck and construction is expected in 2027. During its last full inspection, this bridge was rated in fair condition.

The main detour for people heading toward Seattle from here and points south remains the South Park Bridge.

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