SUV flips in crash on Ballard Bridge

Geeky Swedes Ballard

1:15 p.m. And… all lanes have reopened nearly four hours after the crash.

11:45 a.m. Southbound lanes are still closed. SDOT crews are using a crane to make repairs to the guardrail of the bridge. No ETA on when lanes will reopen. If you’re leaving Ballard to the south, you’ll need to take the Fremont Bridge or head over to Aurora or I-5.

10:50 a.m. The SUV has been towed away, but southbound lanes remain closed. From the traffic cameras, it looks like maintenance crews are looking at the bridge railing.

Seattle Fire says the man driving the SUV was able to extricate himself without injury.

This is the second major crash on the bridge in the last two weeks, and it’s a good reminder to take it easy across the bridge — especially when it’s raining.

10:00 a.m. Looks like a single vehicle rollover crash involving a SUV. Police have opened both northbound lanes now, but southbound remains closed. Keep an eye on our Ballard traffic cameras for the latest status.

9:50 a.m. An accident in the southbound side of the Ballard Bridge has closed all but one northbound lane. Unclear if there are any injuries.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

23 thoughts to “SUV flips in crash on Ballard Bridge”

  4. This is what happens when the road surface has 2″ deep wheel tracks carved in that haven’t been repaired in 6 decades. Fantastic job Seattle DOT!

  5. Blaming Seattle DOT ? stop the madness…….This is what happens when you’re either an inexperienced driver, drunk, a bad driver, or any combination of those.

  6. If one observes the speed limit on the bridge and doesn’t change lanes on the grating flipping your vehicle is highly unlikely. Unless, of course, you are texting…

  7. Four hours to move the vehicle and check the guard rail? Impossible to open even one lane during all that time? SDOT behaves as if we live in the Seattle of 1960 where you could just cruise over to the Fremont Bridge and cross there. If we’re a major league city now, then how about a major league effort to get people moving quickly.

  10. @ Diana: right on right on right on. Time for these wizards of smart here to realize this bridge is outdated and beyond it’s years, and it IS hard to flip your auto here. Perhaps a lane change on the grating? While the chosen people amongst us, the cyclists, have received special lanes, many other things have been forgotten and or just left to crap out. The Ballard Bridge is an example of Seattle today, as it’s best years are behind, and we’ll have to tax ourselves to fix it. Um, how much this year on the precious homeless? Our priorities are so out of whack.

  11. “While the chosen people amongst us, the cyclists, have received special lanes, ”

    Uh Scott– have you ever ridden a bike across the Ballard Bridge? If you think it’s dangerous to drive your car across then maybe you should try to maneuver this ridiculous deathtrap on a bicycle.

  12. Albert,

    You sound like a cyclist.
    If there is a sidewalk on the bridge, wouldn’t that be safer for the cyclist? Unless the bike rider has a problem with sharing with pedestrians. I have seen cyclists weave in an out of traffic and then get on a sidewalk if that is more convenient at the time. Of course many, perhaps most, cyclists don’t follow the law going thru intersections (uncontrolled, stop sign or traffic signal), they just blaze on thru as if they own the road. More than once I have been the first vehicle to stop a a four way stop sign controlled intersection to see a bicycle go thru the intersection without slowing down.

    Please excuse me for getting off the subject of the Ballard bridge but Albert’s comment about bikes on the Ballard bridge caught my attention.

    Bicycles are great – I even have a foldable bike that I keep in my motorhome so I can use it in the parks I visit.

  13. Irving,
    Have you ever ridden a bike across the Ballard Bridge?

    Yes, I do use the sidewalk when I ride across and I have no problem sharing with pedestrians. However, we are sharing about 4 -1/2″ of pavement with a high curb on the car traffic side.

    I usually either dismount or ride very slowly to make this pass. Did you know a few years ago a bicyclist hit that curb, fell into traffic, and lost his arm?

    I’m not even going to mention the Magnolia side of the bridge and the small gap between the curb that SDOT installed for bikes to make their way past speeding cars (small hint– it’s not safe)

  14. So Scott, who is clearly not mentally disturbed at all, is blaming the rollover of an SUV on bicycles, despite the Ballard Bridge being nationally known for being terrible for bicycles.

    Still waiting for our favorite resident sockpuppet to blame this crash on a fleeing Mike O’Brien, after dropping off a fresh batch of homeless people and topping off everyone’s fentanyl supplies.

  15. @Truth
    This crash clearly shows the dangers of performing olympic-level mental gymnastics while operating a vehicle. Left turns can be hazardous.

    Careful out there.

  20. Nice of Mike O’Brien to cause this terrible accident whilst fleeing Ballard after dropping off a fresh batch of homeless junkies. Hey, maybe we can figure out a way to turn used syringes into road-construction materials; that way, we’re recycling for the environment!

  21. @Homeless on the Range
    Looking at the photo, the junkie/tweaker hobos are likely stuck behind the accident in that Metro D Line bus. They ride for free because the drivers are either afraid to say no, or ordered to let them on. Works out great when one of them flips out during a packed commute or assaults the driver.

  22. Every man keeps a favorite celebrity in mind. Many dream and fantasize about the celebrity during the leisure time. There is nothing wrong in imagining the celebrity. But, it is a waste of your precious time and energy if you cant fulfill your dream into reality.

Leave a Reply