Aurora Bridge Lanes Will Reopen Ahead Of Schedule After Repairs

SEATTLE, WA — The repairs that forced the closure of two lanes on the Aurora Bridge have been completed ahead of schedule, allowing all lanes to reopen for the Wednesday morning commute, WSDOT said.

Traffic on the bridge had been reduced to two lanes in both directions starting Thursday, as crews worked to repair a damaged support beam under the bridge's southbound lanes.

WSDOT had warned that the repairs could take as long as 10 days to complete, but said Tuesday that crafty repair work had helped speed the process along.

“This was a complicated repair because the contractor was working with a stringer that was still holding a section of bridge deck,” WSDOT Assistant Regional Administrator Messay Shiferaw said in a statement. “We needed to lift the closed part the deck with additional steel to alleviate pressure from the stringer, repair the connecting steel and bolt it all back into place while still supporting the concrete deck.”

But crews managed to strip paint from the damaged area, replace connecting plates and repaint that section to guard against corrosion.

Great news #Seattle: All lanes of the SR 99 Aurora bridge will reopen by the morning commute Wednesday, Nov. 6. Crews completed repairs to steel supporting the bridge deck earlier than expected. We'll restripe lanes back to normal overnight tonight. https://t.co/xbAGaDizLQ pic.twitter.com/H0GtmPoDdB
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) November 6, 2019