Alert System Test Planned For West Seattle Bridge

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle's Office of Emergency Management will test a text-based alert system Friday, which would be used to warn neighbors if the West Seattle Bridge collapsed.

The 36-year-old bridge's high rise closed indefinitely after inspections revealed extensive cracks along the main span in late March. Several task forces are determining a path forward, ranging from temporary repairs to a full demolition and replacement project. In any case, the city expects the bridge to remain closed to traffic until at least 2022. Emergency vehicles, metro buses and freight can still use the low bridge.

The alert messages are one part of a unified emergency response plan that includes pre-planned evacuation routes and a multi-agency operation.

According to Seattle Fire, the test messages will be sent at noon on June 26 using the Wireless Emergency Alert system. Some residents may have to opt-in to receive the localized messages.

"Though not predicted, the City has emergency plans in place to use the WEA and AlertSeattle systems among other methods to notify people under or near the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge in the event of an immediate collapse," the fire department wrote in a news release. "The City has successfully used the system several times in 2020, though it's important to test the geographical capabilities of the system to ensure the correct area is targeted."

The fire department said 20 volunteers will stage in areas surrounding the bridge to confirm they received an alert.

To enable local emergency alerts on your phone, follow these steps (from Seattle Fire):

Apple iPhone:

• To turn it on: Enter *5005*25371# and tap the green phone icon. You’ll get an alert that says “Test alerts enabled.”
• To turn it off: Enter *5005*25370# and tap the green phone icon. You’ll get an alert that says “Test alerts disabled.”

Androids:

• Go to “Settings” > “Apps and Notifications” > “Advanced” > “Wireless Emergency Alerts” and then switch “State/local test” option to ON.

Residents are also encouraged to sign-up for AlertSeattle to receive emergency notifications from the city here.