One more week of northbound bridge painting

The bridge painting on the north side of the Ballard Bridge is nearly complete. The contractor for the Seattle Department of Transportation expects to be finished by the end of next week, ending the seven-week daytime lane closure. The sidewalk on the east side of the bridge, however, will remain closed until the end of January.

File photo of the bridge

The work has caused backups in the northbound direction during the day. “When there are two or three bridge openings in one hour, the flow of traffic does not fully recover between openings, causing much longer backups,” explained SDOT Project Manager Ron Scharf. “The completion of this important maintenance work on the northbound side should resolve the current traffic issues.”

The painting crews are expected to start painting the west side of the bridge in February, which means daytime lane closures in the southbound direction. “The workday schedule will change to accommodate the morning commute period,” according to SDOT.