Item No.:  10a_Supp
Meeting Date:  September 28, 2021

West Seattle Bridges
Memorandum of Understanding between the Port of Seattle and the City of Seattle
Pearse Edwards, Senior Director, External Affairs  |  Lindsay Wolpa, NW Seaport Alliance                      September 28, 2021
Geraldine Poor, Regional Transportation  |  Sabrina Bolieu, Regional Government Relations
1

How We Got Here
March 2020:
Closure of the West Seattle High Bridge upon discovery of
rapidly expanding cracks in the bridge infrastructure.
November 2020:
Mayor Durkan's decision to repair the high bridge, rather
than replace with a new structure.
March 2021:
Mayor Durkan requested funding from federal and local
governments to aid in the immediate repair and
rehabilitation of the bridges.
May 2021:
City selected contractor for the final phase of repairs to
safely reopen the bridge in mid-2022.

2

Why did the bridge fail?
Post-tensioning strands are steel cables that tighten
the bridge and strengthen the concrete
Although designed to the standards of the time,
insufficient post-tensioning caused the weight of the
bridge (dead load) and the weight of traffic (live load)
to be redistributed to parts not designed to carry
these loads
The center span has been stabilized. The tail spans
have not
Corridor-wide investment is needed to maintain
reliability going forward
3 priorities during emergency closure: aggressive
repair/rehabilitation to reopen; maintain
mobility; mitigate detour routes

Prioritizing Freight for Low Bridge Access
Low bridge policy's economic growth and
sustainability objective: Prioritize freight
movement to support economic health
and decrease detour route traffic
Freight is a priority user along with
emergency and transit vehicles
All freight vehicles with gross vehicle
weight of 10,001 pounds or higher can
drive on the low bridge at any time
Freight community members included on
low bridge access subcommittee to help
inform SDOT's decision on access

Reconnect West Seattle
To date, Reconnect West Seattle has built over 200
traffic mitigation projects, including:
Improving traffic flow at Highland Park Way and
West Marginal Way by creating additional turning
and travel lanes
Refreshing pavement markings and signs and
improving signal timing along freight routes
Adding 30,000 annual transit hours in West
Seattle this October, plus extending the summer
water taxi schedule through the winter
Building 61 Home Zone projects to calm
traffic speeds and enhance accessibility along
detour routes through South Park, Georgetown,
and Highland Park

Current West Seattle Bridge Repair Status
What we have done recently:
Secured $37.7M in federal funding;
grant legislation passed City Council on
September 13
Approved by USDOT to use Community
Workforce Agreement to hire workers
from disadvantaged zip codes
Maintained schedule for project
permits
Completed 60% design and modified
scope of work
Completed 90% design review
Obtained approval to begin early work
in advance of rehab

West Seattle Bridges provide Regional Mobility
West Seattle has one-sixth of the city's population and
many small businesses.
The High Bridge carried over 84,000 cars and trucks,
along with 25,000 bus riders, every weekday prior to
closure.
The lower Swing Bridge carried over 10,000 trips per
day, especially trucks serving the maritime and
industrial businesses of the Duwamish MIC.
Restoring the high bridge to full capacity will also
remove traffic detours in place since the closure which:
added 14-20 minutes to the typical resident's
commute,
separated businesses from customers, and
impacted communities such as Georgetown and
South Park.

7

Regional and statewide
importance
West Seattle Bridge is a critical point in region,
state and the nation's transportation network
Nearby terminals are key to our state's
agriculture and maritime industries
International cargo businesses headquartered
nearby along with companies that serve as a
lifeline for residents of Alaska and Hawaii
Need to support large public investment in
Terminal 5 made by The Northwest Seaport
Alliance

West Seattle Bridge Vicinity Map and Terminal 5
Terminal 5



West Seattle
Bridge Closure
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POS/NWSA Principles for
West Seattle Bridges Improvements Program
Low Bridge Freight Access            Rapid Restoration
Maritime Industry Access             Equitable Implementation
Strategic Economic Impact            Sustainable Solutions
Local Operations Support             Broadly Supported Execution

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Port Freight Mobility Investments

Heavy Haul Network agreement      Lander Memorandum of Agreement     Safe & Swift Memorandum of
(October 2015)                      (August 2016)                          Understanding (August 2017)



Freight Master Plan (September 2016) and           Puget Sound Gateway Program Interlocal Agreement
Industrial Areas Freight Access Project (May 2015)    between WSDOT / Port of Seattle (May 2020)
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Low and high bridge structural rehabilitation construction schedules





Note: Schedule and budget will be updated with more detail as we reach each project milestone.                 12

Total Program Costs and Funding Strategy
West Seattle Bridge Program Elements and Costs                    City Funding Strategy
City of Seattle
WEST SEATTLE BRIDGES PROGRAM
Bonding  City of Seattle           $ 107,813,000
Reconnect West Seattle                                $ 49,994,731                  STBD                                      8,000,000
Emergency Repairs                                     19,742,722                  Gas Tax                                  4,840,000
Bridge Monitoring/Testing                                 3,360,344
Street Use & Occupation                 730,000
High Bridge Repair                                        58,173,189
Commercial Parking Tax                  217,000
Low Bridge Strengthening                                13,297,000
General Funds/TNC                     500,000
Low Bridge Control System / HDD and Comms              4,051,005
Federal Grants                               39,150,600
High Bridge Replacement Planning                        10,000,251
Port of Seattle                                   9,000,000
Traffic and Revenue Study                                  2,354,303
Program Development                                14,276,672           Other Local Funds                            5,000,000
Total:   $175,250,217                                     Total:          $ 175,250,600

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Memorandum of Understanding Components
Commit to Spokane Street Low Bridge access to Port properties, especially T-5 for freight, workers
2.4
and construction/maintenance
Container
Operations           Include Port/NWSA needs in City's construction & traffic control planning to avoid or minimize
2.5
Nexus                   freight impacts
2.6  Support T-5 construction and permitting, especially emerging issues
2.7  Ensure freight mobility and support for industrial lands vitality
Ensure the "Future Replacement Bridge" study protects container terminal functionality for 2030
2.8
Duwamish             Sound Transit and 2060 W Seattle Bridges
Transportation    2.9  Support street improvements for T-18 truck access (in design)
Operations
Interests               Establish truck parking areas in the Duwamish MIC for benefit of both truck drivers and Duwamish
2.10
Valley residents
Delay WMW bike lane decision until bridge reopens
2.11
Future bike lane design to maximize safety and minimize freight impacts
Additional
2.12 Support East Marginal Way Improvements Phase 2 as priority for next Levy
Interests
Funding
Three progressive payments upon completion of construction
Strategy
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Progress Payments
FIRST PAYMENT OF          SECOND PAYMENT OF          THIRD AND FINAL
$3,000,000 AFTER THE       $3,000,000 AFTER THE          PAYMENT $3,000,000:
CITY HAS:                   CITY HAS:                       made upon Final
reopened the High                    made upon Substantial                     Acceptance of all projects
Bridge with full access                Completion of the Spokane             including progress on other
consistent with prior                 St Swing Bridge Repair and              MOU provisions
operations (7 lanes) and             Improvement Projects                  expected in 2023
shown progress on other           including progress on other
MOU provisions                  MOU provisions
expected in mid-2022                 expected by year end 2022


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Questions?
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