Well, it looks as if the Seattle Times has scooped us once again with this story about cement falling from the I-5 bridge. The one sentence summary is that, while small chunks of concrete have been falling off the underside of the bridge for some time, no one is known to have been hit, and WSDOT insists the bridge is safe to drive on. In an abundance of caution, the Seattle parks department has closed two parks, the South Point Passage Park on the south side of the bridge and the North Point Passage Park in our neighborhood. That still leaves a lot of areas where you could be beaned by some bridge. Note that the Burke Gilman Trail, technically part of the Seattle Parks system, was open as of Thursday afternoon when I breezed through there. And there is quite a bit of roadway under that bridge as well. So, probably not a good time to drive the convertible with the top down. But with the temperatures falling and some snow in the forecast, you probably don’t have the top down, do you?
What the Seattle Times article does not have are these exclusive photos of some of the affected areas which I took recently with my cell phone. (The Times has their own exclusive photos.) You will only find these here on Wallyhood!
“Temporary closure.” Yeah, right, like the “temporary” barriers that have been blocking the sidewalk on 45th at I-5 since September. SDOT and WSDOT don’t give a damn about public spaces, only roads.
More like detouring, than blocking, right? I went that way last weekend, if I understand what you’re talking about. The only real obstacle was a sign that was mounted too low, on which I hit my head. Who blocks the sidewalks for months, is private construction projects like the one at NE 50th and Brooklyn NE.
An infrastructure bill might help!
The safest streets are the ones where you don’t get beaned by falling concrete.
I have to wonder if there’s a safety issue for people using the bridge, whatever WSDOT says, if there are pieces falling off. Like, that concrete was just decorative? Designed to drop off?
Anyway, as massive a problem as that would be, it’s one thing Alex Pedersen won’t have to deal with – I-5 is the state’s business.