TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday updates; W. Marginal Way SW reopens one lane each way at noontime after overnight closure for City Light work

(SCROLL DOWN FOR W. MARGINAL WAY SW CLOSURE UPDATES)

(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:09 AM: Though there’s been no alert from SDOT, we’re told West Marginal Way SW is still closed near the Duwamish Longhouse, following a crash last night that was reported to have taken out a utility pole.

7:38 AM: Our crew has just verified that it’s indeed closed both ways in the 4700 block while Seattle City Light crews work on repairs:

The pole is down by the Herrings House Park entrance on the river side of the road.

8:10 AM: Here’s a view showing the work right over the Duwamish Trail:

8:34 AM: Now there’s a crash at W. Marginal Way and Puget Way. Multiple sources say it involves a semi-truck.

9:09 AM: For now, we’ll continue updating the W. Marginal situation here. We’re also checking with City Light on why this has been an all-night-and-beyond repair job.

9:31 AM: City Light’s Scott Thomsen explains why this has been so complicated:

The crash involved a semi tractor-trailer. It obliterated the pole.

First, crews had to wait for the semi to be removed before they could start work.

They also have had to take extra safety precautions because the location is right next to a railroad line. That’s why the crews have been using the roadway as their work zone. Other safety considerations are in place because of an adjacent high-voltage transmission line.

Then there’s the complicated nature of the repair because of the equipment that particular pole was hosting.

That pole was carrying two feeder circuits and switching gear. It uses our heaviest, most robust wire, so replacing the lines requires more equipment and lineworkers.

Because of the location and the weight of all that gear, the pole was reinforced with a support pole and multiple guy wires on the opposite side of the road.

Crews continue to work on replacing all of that equipment and expect to finish about noon.

11:57 AM: Thanks to the commenter who reported that W. Marginal Way SW now has one lane open each way.

ADDED WEDNESDAY EVENING: We asked SDOT about the lack of signage and other alerts. Spokesperson Norm Mah replied: “While Seattle City Light had appropriate traffic control near their major electrical repair response, advance warning signage on the roadway likely would have been beneficial for providing earlier warning to the traveling public. We will work with SCL to ensure they incorporate that for future emergency repair responses that require temporary roadway closures.”

Cathy December 16, 2015 (7:21 am)

We are just south of the W Marginal Way closure. Vehicles approaching from the south are making U turns and some semis are parked in the left turn lanes since they’re unable to turn around.

John December 16, 2015 (7:38 am)

Blocked on the north side as well with all vehicles turning around to other routes.

sam-c December 16, 2015 (8:41 am)

seems weird that there’s no warning at the main access points for that road that you can’t get all the way through. Maybe a ‘local access only’ sign with police directing traffic at either end. We saw the emergency vehicles headed down the Highland Park way last night around 6:15 pm, and then on our way back at 7:15ish pm, didn’t see any indication of anything (at the HP Way and Marginal intersection) so figured that it had been addressed

Amy Thomson December 16, 2015 (8:49 am)

The fun just never stops. My husband reports a car-truck accident on W. Marginal at the temporary truck parking lot.

WSB December 16, 2015 (8:53 am)

Added the news of a dispatch to a crash. Thanks for the details.

Cathy December 16, 2015 (9:01 am)

We’re just north of the crash. NB traffic is stopped at that spot.

ktrapp December 16, 2015 (10:19 am)

I agree with sam-c that considering Marginal had been closed for a good 12 hours, there’s no excuse that (at least southbound), they didn’t have signage up alerting people to the road closure around the intersection under the bridge, when it’s easiest to take an alternate route. Instead, drivers get to essentially go a mile or two down a dead-end street, then double-back. At the very least, they could have put a warning up on the digital reader boards on 35th and Admiral about the closure.

NuclearMarc December 16, 2015 (10:46 am)

Well, SPD may not be able to respond the way we might like, but it cost me 15min of paid time adding 25 minutes to my commute, when I could have easily just gone up Delridge vs. the U-turn (was that legal) on W. Marginal.
Room for improvement, I guess.

Physicslady December 16, 2015 (11:51 am)

Traffic is now reopened one lane in each direction

WSB December 16, 2015 (11:54 am)

Thank you!

HPMom December 16, 2015 (11:54 am)

At 6:25am I was waiting at the light at the bottom of HP Way, heading east out of Highland Park. I can tell you with certainty that by that time there WAS signage clearly instructing people to not enter. There were flares, and a DO NOT ENTER sign situated in the northbound lane of West Marginal at the intersection, yet I witnessed driver after driver move into the oncoming/southbound lane to drive *around* the blockade. Oblivious, ignorant, or “it-doesn’t-apply-to-me” attitude. You choose.

Matt S December 16, 2015 (11:57 am)

Absolutely absurd that they had over 12 hours, but SPD/SDOT put up zero warning signs, had no one directing traffic, leading to hundreds of vehicles making U-turns, and one additional, completely preventable accident. Ridiculous. Anyone have any ideas who I can complain to? Already posted something on SPD site, but highly doubt it will go anywhere.

WSB December 16, 2015 (12:06 pm)

A Parking Enforcement Officer was on duty when we were there just before 8 am – did they leave? Anyway, one place would be Councilmember Tom Rasmussen’s office. Though he’s in his final days, he’s still engaged (he pinged us yesterday to be sure we’d heard about a particular issue) and I believe this would fall under the “West Seattle Bridge Corridor” type area – closure of an arterial for 18 hours but SDOT didn’t seem to be aware of the scope of the closure and therefore there were no warning signs/signboard usage – I’m going to check with them next myself but that’s no substitute for a complaint/concern – you could also try the City Customer Service Bureau – TR

Betty at Alki December 16, 2015 (12:27 pm)

This is particularly distressing at this time of year when many Alki Beach people head to the airport via West Marginal Way/509/518.

linda December 16, 2015 (12:33 pm)

The folks who were going around the blockade at W. Marginal and Highland Park way may have been trying to get to work at the businesses which are on W. Marginal on that side of the incident (Seafreeze, operations at the various terminals, etc.). I used to work at T115 right by that intersection so I would have been one of the folks ignoring the blockade so I could get to my job.

More Traffic December 16, 2015 (2:38 pm)

It looks like City Light is also doing some kind of excavation on Delridge, just north of Thistle. Both lanes are open (just rerouted a few feet via cones) but traffic is already slowing down there. Just a heads’ up since rush hour is coming.

WSB December 16, 2015 (2:58 pm)

Thanks! Notification isn’t often made on smaller projects – though we ask! – so firsthand reports are VERY helpful. Meantime, SDOT is looking into the no-signage-etc. issue as is Councilmember Rasmussen. – TR

MotorMike December 16, 2015 (4:14 pm)

At 9am there was nothing in the road indicating that the road was closed. After I arrived in the traffic jam and sat there for 10 minutes a police car arrived then turned around and blocked traffic. I’m confused why if this was a known issue, that something wasn’t done earlier. I did not see a blockade mentioned by an earlier comment. My only source of info regarding the blockage was reading West Seattle Blog while sitting in the traffic jam. It doubled my 10mile commute from 30 minutes to 60minutes. The 99 bridge raising didn’t help.

hereinseattle December 16, 2015 (7:10 pm)

Haha, didn’t know we had an Amish cultural center here in West Seattle!

Barb Chamberlain December 17, 2015 (8:24 am)

Thanks to your reporting via Twitter I was able to avoid this on my bike commute. Since many times bikes can get through where cars can’t, I needed the extra detail that the Duwamish Trail was also closed. That’s often left out of official reports on traffic problems.

Sorry, comment time is over.