South Spokane Street Viaduct Deck Rehabilitation
Updated March 20, 2024
What's Happening Now?
The South Spokane Street Viaduct (SSV) design is complete and has been advertised for construction. We expect construction to begin later this summer.
Project Background
The South Spokane Street Viaduct (SSV) is important to Seattle's transportation network. The SSV literally helps connect West Seattle to the rest of the city. People leaving Interstate 5 (I5) use the SSV to enter the West Seattle Bridge and the Spokane Street Swing Bridge (aka the Low Bridge). To keep SSV in use, we are dedicating the money, time, and labor to repair the road surface.
Project Overview
As its name suggests, the Spokane Street Viaduct sits above South Spokane Street. The Viaduct was first built in the 1920s. Back then, it was one of only two road connections between West Seattle and downtown. Every day several kinds of vehicles travel across the bridge. Think heavy freight vehicles, buses, and hundreds and hundreds of cars. Add wet weather conditions to this equation and the wear and tear is inevitable.
The SSV has undergone repairs and expansions in recent years, yes. Still, the driving surface (or what we call the deck) needs repair. The deck has cracks and damage from the traffic. In some areas, the cracking looks like alligator skin. The Deck Rehabilitation project will replace the existing surface and fix these cracks.
We plan to close the bridge completely for five weekends during Summer 2024. Dates will be available closer to when construction begins. Don’t worry - you will still be able to drive across the bridge during weekdays. When we do close the bridge, though, we will offer detour routes.
You can read about our process and logic below:
- First, we will remove the existing concrete surface on the eastbound lanes. We will start with the eastern side of the SSV since it is the older side.
- Then, we replace that surface with a newer, more durable one.
Funding
The SSV is one of three Seattle bridges that will receive $4.5 million for repairs. The Federal Highway Administration Bridge Improvement Program supplies this money. Thanks to a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can perform these repairs.
Schedule
- Summer 2024: Construction