SEATTLE — The countdown is on to the West Seattle Bridge reopening date, Sept. 18.
"I am at the point now where I am counting days, I can't wait for that to reopen because it's not just a big deal for me, it's a big deal for all of Seattle," said Brian Callanan who is a volunteer with the Bridge Reopening Committee.
The committee is creating Reunited West Seattle t-shirts with proceeds going to local businesses.
"It's been a real challenge just to get around so when you pile that on top of the pandemic and all the issues with that, it's just been really difficult," said Callanan.
September 18 remains the steadfast reopening date according to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT.)
"I expect it will open early in the morning on Sunday and people can resume their lives," said Heather Marx who is with SDOT.
The last hurdle is testing the critical stress conditions which means loading up to twelve trucks each with 80 thousand pounds and positioning them onto the bridge. A test they are confident the bridge will pass.
With a closure lasting well over two years, KING 5 asked Marx why it took so long.
"We closed this bridge before it fell down so we had to do work to figure out what exactly it was that was creating those cracks," she said.
KING 5's Kristin Goodwillie went below the deck to see the repairs and better understand what went wrong. The cracks can be seen on the wall, dates reflect the progress.
"You go to any structure and you can find a crack. The danger is when the crack is a little too wide and so moisture gets in and can corrode the rebar on the inside," said Marx.
KING 5 is told what went wrong has to do with the post-tensioning tendons. Tendons are steel wires that are each stressed to 40,000 pounds. Each tendon has either 19 or 27 wires in it.
According to SDOT, once all the tests are completed and the bridge reopens, the repairs should last for the next 40 years. Commuters are watching the clock as that much-anticipated deadline ticks closer.
"I'm excited about it, I know my neighbors are excited about it, I just want it to happen. It can't happen soon enough," said Callanan. They have sold 340 shirts so far and are hoping to get over 1,000. The shirts can be found on Westseattlebestseattle.org.