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Lake Washington Ship Canal Bridges

Rush-Hour Schedules

To keep roadway traffic moving during peak driving times, bridge openings are restricted.

Ballard and Fremont bridges remain closed to boaters weekdays from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., except national holidays. (See Footnote 1 below.) The University bridge remains closed to boaters weekdays from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., except national holidays.

During closed periods, bridge openings will not be made unless a vessel is 1,000 gross tons or more, or is towing a vessel exceeding 1,000 gross tons (Federal Regulation).

Footnote 1 - Closed periods will be in effect for the Columbus Day holiday.


Bridge Openings by Appointment

One bridge operator (the Call-out Bridge Operator) is responsible for the three Ship Canal bridges between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Vessels are required to give one hour advance notice for a bridge opening. To request an opening, vessels should call the Bridge Shop on Marine Channel 13, or by telephone at 386-4251 after 11:00 p.m. The operator will drive to the bridge at the agreed time.

The signal for all Lake Washington Ship Canal bridges is one prolonged then one short whistle blast.

If the vessel is not there, the operator will wait 15 minutes and then try to contact the vessel using Marine Channel 13. If there is no response, the operator will leave the bridge and go to the next appointment.

The Call-out Operator schedules all the appointments for efficient use of time by grouping boats and limiting the amount of driving time between bridges.

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