For those who use the Ballard Bridge, the traffic congestion goes on. With the bridge painting project near completion, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) says the contractor plans to work on the west side of the bridge today. One southbound lane and the west sidewalk will close from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The contractor will resume work in the northbound lane starting at 8 p.m., and sidewalk closures on the east side will resume. The work will go through May and into early June.
From SDOT:
Bicyclists will be detoured during sidewalk closures. Bicyclists may use the Fremont Bridge or may cross the ship canal at the Ballard Locks. (The sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate bicycle traffic in two directions on the same sidewalk.)
Last year, SDOT painted the Ballard Bridge approaches (the raised roadways at each end of the bridge). This year SDOT is painting the bascule part of the bridge, which is the portion of the bridge that opens and closes for marine traffic. SDOT’s annual bridge painting program provides for the periodic painting of each of the city’s 20 structural steel bridges. The painting helps protect the steel surfaces on the bridges from corrosion and other weather deterioration.