Ballard Bridge Seismic Retrofit

Project History

The Ballard Bridge, which carries 4 lanes of 15th Ave NW traffic and two sidewalks, spans Lake Washington Ship Canal over Salmon Bay between Interbay to the south and Ballard to the north. Originally built in 1917, it was designed by A.H. Dimock and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The original bridge approach supports were constructed of wood pilings and timbers. (See photograph right, 1917.)

The bridge is composed of three portions: a central operable portion, which has an opening span of 218 feet, and the north and south bridge approaches which combine to total 2,854 feet. The double leaf bascule segment was constructed between 1915 and 1916. The existing mainline approach span sections were later constructed during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. The north ramp were widened and constructed in the late 1950’s.

The retrofit design includes the following types of work in strategic locations: column jacketing; reinforced concrete seat extensions, restrainers, plinth retrofits, pier bolsters, girder strengthening; steel longitudinal restrainers, longitudinal blocking, knee bracing and deck joint restrainers. Also included will be the replacement of street lighting along the bridge approaches.

The two photos to the right show a column before and after it has been fully jacketed.

Environmental Considerations

SDOT is conducting environmental reviews of the Ballard Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project to consider impacts associated with social/economic issues, biological resources, bicycles/pedestrians, historic/cultural resources, visual quality, land use, wetlands, and noise and vibration.

If you have any questions regarding this process please contact: Mark Mazzola, SDOT Environmental Coordinator, at 206-733-9117 or mark.mazzola@seattle.gov.

Public Outreach

We are working closely throughout the project with local government, \ community groups and businesses, as well as transportation agencies and nearby neighbors, to gather information and help forecast and ease construction impacts.

During construction we will continue to provide information about the project on a regular basis and keep people informed through regular e-mail updates. To join our e-mail list, please give us your contact information by sending an e-mail to maribel.cruz@seattle.gov .

Questions or comments?

Contact the SDOT Project Team:

Connie Zimmerman
Project Manager
206.684.5184
Connie.Zimmerman@Seattle.Gov

Maribel Cruz
Outreach Coordinator
206.684.7963
Maribel.Cruz@Seattle.Gov

Project Funding

The project is funded by Bridging the Gap , a nine-year levy for transportation maintenance and improvements. The $365 million levy was passed by Seattle voters in November 2006. The goal of the program is to create a strong foundation for Seattle’s transportation future by reducing the infrastructure backlog and investing in major transportation projects.