On Tuesday, September 2nd, the first closures will begin on the Fremont Bridge, for painting. The curb lane, northbound, will be closed to all traffic (vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist) from 6a – 3p, Monday to Friday for the next few weeks. On the next two weekends – September 6th & 7th, and 13th & 14th – the entire bridge will be placed in the open position from midnight to 7a, with a brief passage for pedestrian and bicycle traffic from 1:20a – 2:20a.
These closures will allow for the painting of the nearly 100-year-old structure. Right now, crews are preparing with pressure washing and scraping years of previous paint off the metal structure. The contractor believes they may be able to speed work along enough to have crews cleaning and painting on both sides of the bridge simultaneously this fall, which could mean more closures – but for shorter periods of time.
A southbound lane could be closed from 10a – 3p in addition to the northbound closure. All lanes will be opened for traffic after 3p every day, to ease traffic during rush hour.
Keep in mind, the Aurora Bridge will be open during painting of the Fremont Bridge, and does provide an alternative to the confusion of lane closures for vehicle traffic.
For answers about this project, and to register concerns, contact Art Brochet, Communications Lead for the Seattle Department of Transportation, at 206/615-0786 or art.brochet@seattle.gov