The Fremont Bridge will be closed to traffic overnight on October 21 for bridge deck maintenance.
The closure will start at midnight Friday Oct. 21 and will last through 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. SDOT says the drawbridge will remain raised overnight so crews can weld and repair sections of the bridge’s metal deck grating.
SDOT says the bridge will remain closed to vehicles the entire night, but they will lower it for 15-minute intervals at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., and 4 a.m. to allow people to walk or bike across.
All Metro buses will be rerouted around the closure—more information is available on King County Metro’s website.
Built in 1917, the Fremont Bridge is believed to be the most frequently raised drawbridge in the country. SDOT says the fasteners that hold that metal bridge deck in place have worn down and loosened, causing the metal grating to shift when a vehicle drives over it.
A truck with a movable arm will lift crews up to 100 feet over the water to weld parts of the bridge. The process, according to SDOT, involves “super-heating the metal bridge deck with a welding torch to burn off layers of accumulated dirt, and then repairing the attachments that hold the metal grating in place.”
The work is weather dependent. If the repairs can’t be completed this week, SDOT will schedule another closure next week (Oct. 28).
Photo: SDOT
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