Fremont Bridge to close overnight Oct. 28 for continued bridge deck maintenance

The Fremont Bridge is closing to traffic again tonight for crews to work on the bridge deck.

This will be the second bridge closure in a week—SDOT crews are welding and repairing sections of the bridge’s metal deck grating. The department said that crews completed a significant amount of work during the first overnight closure on Oct. 21-22, but need another night to complete the work.

The Fremont Bridge will be closed to vehicles all night long but will be briefly lowered for 15-minute intervals at 1, 2, 3, and 4 a.m. to allow people to walk, roll, or bike across the bridge.

All Metro buses will be rerouted around the closure—more information is available on King County Metro’s website.

Built in 1917, the Fremont Bridge is believed to be the most frequently raised drawbridge in the country. SDOT says the fasteners that hold that metal bridge deck in place have worn down and loosened, causing the metal grating to shift when a vehicle drives over it.

A truck with a movable arm will lift crews up to 100 feet over the water to weld parts of the bridge. The process, according to SDOT, involves “super-heating the metal bridge deck with a welding torch to burn off layers of accumulated dirt, and then repairing the attachments that hold the metal grating in place.”

The work is weather-dependent and SDOT will reschedule if it rains.

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