The West Seattle Bridge emergency is over. The Seattle Dept. of Transportation (SDOT) announced it will reopen the city's critical transportation link on Sunday, Sept. 18. The seven-lane, 2,600-ft-long, 38-year-old high-rise bridge was shut down in March 2020 after regular inspections conducted by WSP indicated accelerated growth of new and existing structural cracks. During the emergency $67-million project, crews worked to stabilize and repair the bridge.
Kraemer North America, hired under an emergency contract to stabilize the structure, injected epoxy into cracks, added external post-tensioning to support the existing internal post-tensioning system, wrapped concrete girders with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and released the damaged bearing at Pier 18.