Seattle's Montlake Bridge Closes To Motor Vehicles Next Week

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle’s Montlake Bridge will be closed for nearly a month beginning next week, which will close the bridge to motor vehicle traffic, but will remain open to bicyclists and foot traffic, officials said.

The bridge will close to automobiles beginning Aug. 9 and will remained closed through Sept. 3 as crews will be adding extra support beams and remove and replace metal grid deck panels, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Officials wrote in an online blog that the bridge will be completely closed to vehicles for safety purposes as the work could cause gaping holes in the bridge at any time. The sidewalks on the bridge will remain open, which will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to continue to use the bridge while work is being completed.

Boaters using the Montlake Cut will also be affected, officials said, since the bridge is moveable. Boaters that need the bridge to be raised can request a single-leaf opening, WDSOT said, which means that one side of the bridge can be opened upon request. Full bridge openings require a 24-hour request to the bridge operator, officials said.

The bridge sees traffic of up to 60,000 vehicles a day and serves as the connector between Montlake and the University district along with other parts of Seattle. WSDOT officials expect that the bridge closure will slow traffic on some city streets around Mountlake Avenue and that the delays will be varied, depending on the day and time.

Traffic on Montlake Avenue is expected to decrease while the bridge is closed as motorists seek other routes to reach their final destination. Crews will use the slowdown in traffic to work on the SR 520 Montlake Project, which will include clean-up work around the former Montlake Market and gas station, officials said. Traffic in the area will be reduced to one lane for much of August.

Once the bridge’s deck is replaced in early September, crews will begin rehabilitating the bridge's mechanical systems, officials said. The work will take up to five weekends this fall. During those weekends, the sidewalks and road will be closed across the Montlake Cut. Boat access will not be affected.