SEATTLE — Editor's note: The above video of concrete being poured on the West Seattle bridge was published April 18.
Crews have completed pouring structural concrete on the West Seattle Bridge, moving the project one step closer to an expected mid-2022 reopening.
The structural concrete will hold new steel cables essential to strengthening the bridge, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). The department called the process a "crucial project milestone" that affected the project's reopening schedule.
Concrete work was supposed to begin in February but was delayed by a concrete strike that stalled many projects around the Puget Sound area. At the time, it was unclear if the strike would push back the bridge's expected reopening date. Current estimates suggest construction will be completed on time.
During the strike, crews prioritized completing other projects that didn't require concrete work like sealing cracks with epoxy and wrapping the bridge walls with carbon fiber, SDOT said.
This week, the construction contractor for the West Seattle Bridge project poured 15 truckloads of concrete in two days, which was more than half the structural concrete needed for the entire project. Once the concrete structures have cured, they'll be capable of holding more than 20 million pounds of force, according to SDOT.
Crews are now working with the construction contractor to finalize the sequence of the remaining work on the bridge.
The next step in the process is to install ducts in the new concrete blocks so that crews can thread steel cables through the length of the bridge. After the concrete has fully cured, crews will tighten the cables to strengthen the bridge and prevent future cracking.