Background
West Seattle is an area of the city of Seattle located on a peninsula west of the Duwamish waterway and east of the Puget Sound. In March 2020, the West Seattle High Bridge (WSHB), the main bridge connecting West Seattle to the rest of the city, was closed indefinitely to traffic due to its increasing rate of structural deterioration. Moreover, access to the Spokane Street Lower Bridge, a smaller bridge connecting West Seattle with Harbor Island and the rest of the city, was also restricted; prioritizing heavy freight, public transit, and emergency vehicles. After the bridge closure and restrictions, the total number of vehicle travel lanes crossing the Duwamish River was reduced from 21 to 12.
The unexpected closure of WSHB disrupted passenger and freight mobility to and from West Seattle, increasing travel times and generating bottlenecks on the remaining bridges, which can potentially negatively impact the livability of the peninsula as well as its economy and the environment. The situation might further deteriorate as traffic demand to and from West Seattle increases during recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is taking actions to monitor changes in travel behavior to/from West Seattle and identify and implement strategies that could mitigate the negative impacts caused by the WSHB closure.
Goals
SDOT has engaged the Urban Freight Lab to conduct research to explore strategies to alleviate congestion impacts and minimize the disruption of goods and service delivery to West Seattle.
The purpose of this study is to support SDOT to:
- understand current freight movements and freight demand in West Seattle;
- identify a data-driven mitigation strategy for freight and service flow to and from West Seattle;
- assess ex-ante the effectiveness of an implemented strategy.
The freight operations considered and analyzed within the scope of the project are consumer goods and services destined for West Seattle residents and businesses. Intermediate goods and raw materials destined for construction of production and other goods transiting through West Seattle but not destined for local residents or businesses will not be studied.
Continuation
This project continues with the West Seattle Bridge Case Study Phase II.