The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is designing new approaches to the Fremont Bridge. The approaches are the elevated roadway structures that lead to the double-leafed portion of the bridge.

The new structures will be in the same location and the same size as the existing approaches and will meet up with the existing bridge and roads at either end. In addition to replacing the approach structures, SDOT will upgrade the electrical and mechanical drive mechanisms that lift the bridge, and will replace the bridge maintenance shop located beneath the south approach.

The center span of the Fremont Bridge was retrofitted in 2000, and does not need to be replaced.

Fremont Bridge: I-5 for Bicyclists

The Fremont Bridge is the key transportation link between the Fremont neighborhood and the Queen Anne and Westlake communities. It is one of only five Lake Washington Ship Canal bridges that link the northern end of Seattle to the Central Downtown Business District.

• Among workers residing in the 17 census tracts in the immediate vicinity of the Fremont Bridge, north of the Ship Canal, 1,655 of them are bicycle commuters (journey-to-work mode on April 1, 2000, US Census).

• These 17 tracts represent the highest concentration of bicycle commuters in the state. Although comprising just 1.3% of Washington’s census tracts and including just 1.8% of workers statewide, they are home to over 10% of the state’s 16,174 bicycle commuters.

• Bicycle commuters are especially concentrated near the bridge itself. In the census tract adjacent to and containing the bridge’s north approach, fully 5.9% of the nearly 4,000 workers living there commute to work by bicycle.

Leaving Bikes out of the Picture

As the project stood in March of this year, SDOT was missing an opportunity to eliminate existing hazards and improve conditions for bicycling. Importantly, that opportunity will not come again in generations, complained advocates.

“They’re failing,” stated Emily Allen, chair of the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board. “It’s not that hard to get these things right, but as it is now none of the more serious problems have been addressed.”

Activists, including Cascade Bicycle Club staff, noted that prior to their intervention, no reasonable consideration was given to studying the non-motorized traffic across or under the bridge. Further, no discernable effort was made to reduce hazardous conditions that currently exist, including double-blind crossings of right-turning cars and through bicyclists.

Construction Schedule

The earliest anticipated start date for construction is mid-2005. The replacement of the approaches is expected to last approximately 18 months, to be completed in December 2006. The electrical mechanical system upgrade will take approximately 7 months, from December 2006 to June 2007.

Closing the Burke-Gilman and Ship Canal Trails

When completed, the new approaches will retain their connections with the Burke Gilman, Ship Canal and West Lake Union trails.

However, during the 18 months of bridge approach construction, the Burke-Gilman Trail will be closed from Stone Way North to Phinney Ave. North.

At the insistence of advocates concerned about the 2-3,000 bicyclists using the Burke-Gilman daily, westbound bike traffic will be detoured onto a temporary striped bicycle lane on North 34th Street between Stone Way and Fremont Avenue North.

SDOT also agreed to place detour signs at locations that will give bicyclists many opportunities to choose alternate routes.

The Ship Canal Trail will be closed at the south end of the bridge beginning mid 2005 until completion of the Bridge Maintenance Shop in April of 2008. Bicyclists using the Ship Canal Trail will, unfortunately, have to detour to the Nickerson intersection, cross as pedestrians and then descend back to the trail.

Other Improvements for Bicyclists

Following a grassroots pressure from the cycling community, SDOT agreed to provide the following additional bicycle improvements as part of the Fremont Bridge Approaches Replacement project:

• Widen the southbound curb lane between Florentia and Nickerson Streets to 14 feet to create additional street space for bicyclists.

• Relocate or remove poles and other vertical obstructions to eliminate double blind zones and create clearer pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists.

• Use signs, paint or other lane-marking devices to help warn motorists and bicyclists of potential conflicts.

• Trim back the northeast traffic island nose at the Nickerson/Westlake intersection to minimize debris collection.

More details will be made clear at a special bicycle and pedestrian issues meeting scheduled for July 22. Please see the Cascade website for updates on the outcome of that meeting.

Bike Lanes on the Bridge

SDOT has made great progress in addressing some of the issues their original plans ignored, but gaps remain. Emily Allen, Cascade staff and other organizations are still pushing for better accommodation on the state’s most heavily traveled bridge for bicycles.

“We’re still hopeful that the paved sections of the bridge will get bike lanes,” said Allen. “They will help alert turning vehicles, and bicyclists for that matter, navigate conflict areas in a more logical and predictable manner.”

Allen noted that the City of Portland, Ore. has retrofitted many of its older bridges with innovative treatments that make bicycling safer and more attractive.

Community Involvement

Staff of the Cascade Bicycle Club sit on the citizen’s advisory group, assisting the department with planning and implementing the project. So far, SDOT has conducted stakeholder interviews, held three public meetings and met with several community groups to identify issues related to design and construction of the project. SDOT also periodically mails newsletters and meeting notices to its 30,000 stakeholder addresses.

For More Information

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Robert Gorman, SDOT’s Project Manager, at 206.233.7205.