Seattle, WA
Weekend Reads | Evaluating the West Seattle Bridge Repair One Year Later | South Seattle Emerald
by Kevin Schofield
This weekend’s read is a report published by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) last month on a question that may be top of mind for a bunch of South Seattleites: How’s the West Seattle Bridge doing?
The bridge, which was closed in March 2020 after cracks in the long span over the Duwamish River began rapidly increasing, was repaired over the next two years and reopened to much fanfare and relief in September 2022. SDOT’s new report, which was issued by a bridge construction consultant hired by the department, summarizes the data on how the bridge is holding up after one year of use.
As anyone who has ever built or owned a concrete structure probably knows, concrete often cracks; in fact, cracking is considered “normal.” Over its lifetime, concrete will continue to dry, harden, and shrink; it also expands and contracts with temperature and weather. All of that leads to some inevitable cracking, most of which is considered harmless and inconsequential to its structural strength. But there are two kinds of cracks in concrete that engineers particularly worry about: first, ones that are deep enough to expose the steel rebar inside the concrete to air and moisture that would eventually lead to rust and corrosion; and second, “shear cracks” that signal that there are forces being applied to the concrete that are greater than what it was designed to withstand. As with all concrete bridges, the West Seattle Bridge saw some minor cracking that was being monitored and sealed to ensure the steel rebar was protected, but what shut it down was the discovery of shear cracking on both sides of the central span that rapidly increased and could be interpreted as leading to an eventual failure of the bridge.
The central part of the bridge was supported by several massive steel cables that ran the length of the span and were pulled taut and anchored on both ends. But over time, the cables stretched a bit, placing more of the load on particular parts of the concrete. Also, the way the bridge was being used by traffic changed (more lanes and heavier traffic), which changed how the load was transferred into the bridge structure. Engineers determined that these were factors contributing to the shear cracking. The repairs were twofold: Several additional steel cables were added to the existing ones to provide more support (and the existing ones were tightened up), and the shear cracks were wrapped in carbon-fiber sheets to give them some additional protection from the elements and strength to resist further cracking.
SDOT also added an electronic monitoring system to the bridge to provide 24/7 surveillance of the structure and the existing cracks, so SDOT will know immediately if anything changes. The data from the monitoring system also lets the department validate its own analytical model of the bridge and how it’s behaving. The West Seattle Bridge, even after repairs, is not a static, immovable thing: It continues to expand and contract with the temperature, sway in the wind, and shake in earthquakes. Bridges (and buildings) are designed not to hold still, but instead to be flexible enough to withstand all of those forces without breaking. SDOT has a theoretical computer model of what the newly repaired bridge should do based on the weather, the traffic load, and other factors. The data from the monitoring system lets them calibrate that model and also validate that it’s accurately predicting the bridge’s real behavior. The monitoring system has instruments that track the temperature inside and outside the bridge, along with the overall movement, expansion, and contraction of the bridge. It also has sensors sitting on top of the shear cracks that can detect if the cracks widen or if the concrete on either side of the crack “slip” sideways across each other.
So, what did the one-year report say? Pretty much all good news. The movement of the bridge in the past year has been less than before the repairs were done, suggesting the repairs did indeed strengthen the structure (so far). And the report says there have been no unexpected movements in the cracks. Further, SDOT’s computer model has accurately predicted the actual motion of the bridge, across four seasons of Seattle weather.
Over the past year, SDOT has also conducted frequent physical inspections of the bridge, both inside and outside. As part of the repair work, it added new inspection platforms and new internal lighting to allow for better up-close inspections. And this past June, the department conducted a full bridge inspection, including using the “under-bridge inspection truck” — a truck that parks on top of the bridge and lowers a platform down over the side so workers can inspect the underside up close. The inspectors found “no signs of distress” on the bridge. They did find some minor maintenance issues as a result of the repairs: some minor, expected cracking in the newly-poured concrete; a bit of water leakage around the holes they cut in the bridge to get repair equipment inside; and a bit of corrosion in places where the repair work scraped the protective coating off bits of steel cable.
SDOT intends to continue its frequent inspections for one more year, at which point, if all continues to go well, they will switch to the federal Department of Transportation requirement for physical inspections every two years. They will, however, continue to keep the 24/7 electronic monitoring system in place so they will know immediately if something starts to change.
West Seattle High-rise Bridge – One Year Since Opening Monitoring Summary
Kevin Schofield is a freelance writer and publishes Seattle Paper Trail. Previously he worked for Microsoft, published Seattle City Council Insight, co-hosted the “Seattle News, Views and Brews” podcast, and raised two daughters as a single dad. He serves on the Board of Directors of Woodland Park Zoo, where he also volunteers.
📸 Featured image by Ian Dewar Photography/Shutterstock.com.
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Spooning buttercream into a pastry bag, Kim Holloway is close to opening time. She pipes rosettes of frosting on trays of vanilla cupcakes—some plain vanilla frosting, some cookies and cream.
With the aid of Holloway’s “partner in crime,” Kathleen Dickenson, they prop the lid of an old-fashioned school desk in Holloway’s front yard and fill it with cupcakes. Holloway adds edible pearls and glitter. Shortly after 3 p.m., the Little Free Bakery Phinneywood is open for business—the business of sharing.
“I love to bake, and many people have told me, ‘Oh, you should open a bakery.’ And I just think, ‘No, no, no, no. It would take the joy out of it for me,” Holloway says.
“To me, the seed library is part of food security. It’s like having money in the bank, but it’s seeds in the library.”
Like hundreds of other Little Free hosts in the region, she’s found joy instead in giving.
And, like so many good ideas, this one started with a book.
In 2009, a Wisconsin man named Todd Bol built a Little Free Library in his front yard, encouraging passersby to take a free book or drop off extras. The idea and the format—a wooden box set on a post, usually with a latched door—seeded a movement, with more than 150,000 registered worldwide.
“Seeded” got literal fast: The Little Free book idea spread to other sharing opportunities, including a rampant crop of Little Free Seed Libraries, where people swap extra packets of cilantro and Sungolds.
Seattle’s density, temperate climate, walkable neighborhoods—and maybe our introvert culture?—make it easy for the little landmarks to thrive. They exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, when locals thought outside the box by putting up a box, including what’s believed to be the nation’s first Little Free Bakery and first Little Free Art Library. Many built on the region’s existing affinity for hyperlocal giving—the global Buy Nothing phenomenon, for one example, was founded on Bainbridge Island.
“We just seem to do more of all these versions of sharing,” says “Little Library Guy,” the nom de plume of a longtime resident who showcases the phenomenon on his Instagram feed and a helpful map.
The nonprofit organization now overseeing global Little Free Libraries finds the nonbook knockoffs “fun and flattering,” communications director Margret Aldrich says in an email. (She also notes “Little Free Library” is a trademarked name, requiring permission if used for money or “in an organized way.”)
Some libraries stress fundamental needs: A recently established Little Free Failure of Capitalism in South Seattle provides feminine products, soap, chargers, even Narcan. A Columbia City Little Free Pantry established by personal chef Molly Harmon grew into a statewide network for neighbors supporting neighbors.
Others are about the little things: Yarn. Jigsaw puzzles and children’s toys. Keychains (one keychain library in Hillman City has a TikTok account delighting 8,000+ followers). A Little Free Nerd Library holds Rubik’s Cubes and comic books.
Regardless of where each library falls on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, they stand on common ground. “There’s a line from [Khalil] Gibran: ‘Work is love made visible,’ ” Little Library Guy says in a phone call. “That’s what they’re doing. They’re showing that they love the community by doing something for them.”
Here’s a little free sample of what you might find around town:
Seeding a Movement
Two University of Washington students sort, count, and bag mammoth sunflower seeds during an annual seed inventory inside a research facility at the Center for Urban Horticulture. These are seeds that birds at the UW Farm did not get to, and they’ll go into the Little Free Seed Library by the end of the day. (Photo credit: Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times)
At the UW Farm, on 1.5 acres of intensively planted land at the Center for Urban Horticulture, students grow more than six tons of organic produce annually. They learn about agriculture and ecology while providing food for 90 families in a neighborhood CSA, for college dining halls and for food banks.
One chilly November day, students and volunteers on the self-sustaining farm worked with the small staff to inventory what seemed like countless seeds for next year’s plantings: Parade onions, Autumn Beauty sunflowers, Painted Mountain corn, Genovese basil. Packs with just a small number of remaining seeds were set aside for the Little Free Seed Library installed near rows of winter greens.
Farm manager Perry Acworth organized the little library during the pandemic, seeing the renaissance in home gardening coupled with a run on supplies. “Seeds were sold out … even if they had money, they couldn’t find them,” she says.
Acworth picked up a secondhand cabinet—one with a solid door, rather than the usual Little Free Library glass window, because seeds need to be protected from light. Althea Ericksen, a student at the time, designed it, painted it with a cheerful anthropomorphic beet, and installed it.
Seeds were packed inside jars to protect them from rodents and birds who otherwise would have a feast, and the Little Free Seed Library was born—shielded from rain and direct sun, convenient to pedestrians as well as cars.
On a recent day, seeds for radish, mizuna, red cabbage, and flashy troutback lettuce waited in lidded jars for their new winter homes.
On the side of the seed library, thank you notes sprout comments such as, “Thank you for sharing.” Enough harvests have gone by to see the library’s benefits, from flowering pollinators to harvests of food. A mere handful of seeds isn’t useful for the farm’s scale, Acworth notes, but for library guests, “If I have five sunflowers in my yard, five heads of lettuce, that’s great.”
It isn’t all sunflowers and appreciation. The library has been emptied more than once; the seeds were once dumped out and used to fuel a fire on the ground.
Seattle, WA
Video: Jordan Babineaux on the #Seahawks: “EVERYBODY'S on the Hot Seat” | Seattle Sports – Seattle Sports
Seahawks Legend Jordan Babineaux joins hosts Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton to discuss the future of the Seahawks. Babineaux shares his opinons on Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, John Schneider and more.
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0:00 Will Geno Smith be back?
5:01 Should Ryan Grubb have been fired?
7:24 Will DK Metcalf be back?
9:27 Fixing O-line issues
14:47 Ernest Jones re-sign?
17:10 Is John Schneider on the Hot Seat?
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Listen to The Wyman & Bob Show weekdays from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. live on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports App, or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.
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More info on The Wyman & Bob Show here:
https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/wyman-and-bob/
More Seattle Seahawks coverage from SeattleSports.com:
https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/seahawks/
Seattle weather: Cooler, but drier, week ahead
FOX 13 Meteorologist Ilona McCauley has your 7-day forecast.
SEATTLE – Clouds cleared out this evening around Western Washington, and we got to enjoy a beautiful view of the mountain today! We will likely be seeing more of Mount Rainier in the coming days as the morning fog burns off, and we get more sunbreaks.
Clouds cleared out as we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the skyline this evening.
A ridge of high pressure will build in beginning today, bringing a quiet, stable pattern for the coming days. Clear nights and calm winds will lead to foggy mornings with low clouds forecast to break around 10am to 12pm each day.
Mostly clear skies this evening will allow for fog to develop by early Sunday morning.
Slightly cooler temperatures are forecast around Western Washington. Afternoon highs will warm to the low and mid 40s which is a little below the seasonable average.
A cooler day is forecast for Western Washington with temperatures forecast to be in the low 40s.
No big weather makers are in store for Western Washington in the upcoming week. Mornings will start off with fog which should burn off by the late morning hours. No significant chances for rain this week.
Foggy mornings with afternoon sunbreaks in the extended forecast.
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