SEATTLE — Some residents of West Seattle are hopeful regarding the scheduled reopening of the West Seattle Bridge, while others are skeptical.
Sarah and David Hecht moved to West Seattle during the pandemic with their rescue pup Big Mama. Their weekends are spent exploring with their 4-month-old daughter, Madelyn. They stay close by.
“The bridge will be nice once the bridge is open, it’ll make such a difference. It’ll open our world,” said Sarah.
David works in Ballard with the option to work from home, an option he’s been utilizing.
"I wake up in the morning and I’m just like I’m not going to go in today because you see the red on Google Maps and it’s like, I give up,” David said.
His commute would normally take 20 to 30 minutes, but now it’s over an hour. David said he’s just lucky to have the option to work from home.
Even with the September 18th reopening announcement, there’s some hesitation.
"We’ve heard it’s going to open three times like the date has changed three times. So we’re hopeful but it’s hard to believe,” said Sarah.
Bus driver Rob Redmond is counting down the days.
“I’m 100% certain it’s good to go. I have to live on that,” Redmond said.
Redmond drives to and from West Seattle every day, all day long.
“The day it opens is the day it’ll go back to normal,” said Redmond.
According to the city, when the bridge reopens, it will also lift all restrictions on the Spokane Street Swing Bridge.
"We'll be thankful once the bridge is open so we can venture out, but in the meantime, we're loving West Seattle," said Sarah.
According to the city, the bridge closed suddenly March of 2020 because a routine inspection showed structural cracks.
Historically, this bridge carries over 100,000 cars a day.