A contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation began painting the Ballard Bridge today.  The contractor has closed the sidewalk on the east side of the Ballard Bridge to allow that side of the bridge to be painted. Starting Monday, November 21 the contractor plans to also close one northbound, general traffic lane of the bridge, except that both northbound lanes will be open for the afternoon commute, from  3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

These closures are expected to remain in place for up to six weeks. When the east side of the bridge is completed, the .contractor will switch to the west side.

During the closure of the sidewalk on one side of the bridge, pedestrians may use the sidewalk on the other side of the bridge. Northbound bicyclists are detoured to the Fremont Bridge or the Ballard Locks when the eastern sidewalk and northbound traffic lane are closed.  The sidewalk is not wide enough for two-way bicycle traffic.

The Ballard Bascule Bridge project is the 2011 site for the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Annual Bridge Painting Program, an ongoing asset preservation effort that provides for the periodic painting of each of the city’s 20 structural steel bridges.  The painting will protect the steel bridge elements against corrosion and other weather deterioration. 

For more information or to sign up for the project updates, visit the project website at:

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bridgepainting_current.htm

Or call George Frost,  (216) 615-0786

Media contact: Maraybeth Turner, (206) 684-8548