Fremont Bridge

The Fremont Bridge is a double-​leaf bascule bridge that connects the South Lake Union and Queen Anne neighborhoods with Fremont. Aesthetically it is pleasing to be sure with its blue colors topped off with some orange on top. But now that it is boating season, the look become secondary to function.
As the bridge serves as a crossing for boating vessels, the bridge is raised many times in the day to allow for water traffic to cross through. This causes traffic to pile up on both sides of the bridge with drivers, pedestrians and bikers all waiting to make it across. The delay to cross usually takes anywhere from 5 – 10 minutes.
If you are trying to get to Fremont, I would advise you to use the Aurora Bridge instead to bypass the delay on Fremont if the bridge is up. You could always go around using the Ballard Bridge and driving back south, but that seems like the long way round.
From an aesthetic standpoint, the Fremont Bridge is great. But if you need to cross this bridge regularly, the raising of the bridge becomes a nuisance due to the effect on traffic in the area.

Really? Blue and orange?! So easy to make the accent color green. F-​you Broncos and whoever approved the paint job.

I don’t know what it is about the Fremont Bridge, but I just love it. Maybe it’s the peaceful motion. Some days we like to walk down Fremont Avenue toward the bridge in hope of seeing it raise for some of the larger ships passing thru the waterway to or from Lake Union.
It’s amazing to read about the bridge and come to find out that it raises around 35 times per day!
I’ve only had the issue of getting stuck in traffic twice because of it going up for boat traffic, but find that it moves fairly quickly.

The Fremont Bridge is like a Transformer. Blue and delicately colored, this bridge might open itself in a heart beep monitor shape with the curves since it can open. It has a counterculture element and I saw people running across.
I went by bus, and the bridge showed some beautiful forest nearby and is really near a city within a city.
This brings glory and honor to the Fremont neighborhood.

As one of the busiest bridges in the world, Fremont Bridge is lovable and fun to watch in action from a distance… until it goes up (way, way up) and leaves you stranded, waiting in traffic, and angry.
Hey, at least it’s a fun shade of blue!

I love this bridge. It is so blue and pretty with great views. Adds character to Seattle!

«Let’s go to the Fremont Bridge,» she said. «It is a cute little bistro that overlooks the calm waters of the ship canal,» she added. I agreed, it sounded great. So we went down there and boy what a disappointment! It was not what I expected. First of all, no tables. Secondly, no wait staff. We tried to make ourselves comfortable on the metal grating but it was not easy! Bikers and joggers kept stepping/​riding over us which did not make for a relaxing dinner environment. Car noise was deafening and there wasn’t even WiFi. The Fremont Bridge sucks and we are never going there again for dinner!

Heard this was one of the most active bridge in the US so I had to stop by!
The bridge itself is normal but it actually opens up going up and down a number of times a day. Sounds cool to me! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see that. My travel companion and I even waited for a little while but still it didn’t happen! The view wasn’t bad though.
SAD FACE!

1497 Cyclists this morning. On sunny days about 9 AM that’s what the cyclist counter seems to show. I love this old funky bridge. What a great view for foot traffic cyclists and cars that get stuck there when it goes up.

Wow, first review of a bridge!
Anyway, according to SDOT, the bridge opens 35 times a day, making it one of the most busiest bridges in the world. It’s also a mechanical piece of wonder, something that I will be studying in further detail of how they are built.
Good for walking across the bridge if you’re in the area, exploring the local Fremont culture and parks.

I bike across this lovely piece of engineering at least twice every weekday, usually over crew teams practicing through the Fremont cut. Apparently, it’s the most active bridge in the US, meaning we’re all waiting ever so often. No worries though — it’s pretty quick and the views are awesome. Especially the vibrant sunrises and when Eastlake buildings look like they are on fire at sunset. So cool!

Cute bridge that needs some TLC applied to its paint. It seems to be used a lot than the two draw bridges in the University/​Montlake area and seemingly as much as the Ballard bridge. And it’s fun to walk across.

What’s not to love? My only complaint with this adorable, convenient bridge is that it seems to need to come up. A lot. And it takes a long time too!

Review the Fremont Bridge? Eh, why not? I sure use it enough. As previously noted, although I don’t live or work in Fremont, I spend a heck of a lot of time there. It gives me the opportunity to pass over the bridge all different times of the day.
I’ve walked over the bridge and although I’ll never quite feel super safe doing that, I’m certainly not having a panic attack as I walk by. I think it has to do with the spacing where the pedestrians walk versus where the cars and bikes are. Did I mention bikes? I’m not a bicyclist but there are über amounts of cyclists that use the bridge each day as they access a fairly friendly bike route into the city. I’ve walked, bused, and driven over the bridge. As others have said, as far as going up and down, it’s fairly quick.
I love getting on boats and seeing bridges from the underside. I find it quite humbling and as always, appreciate the chance to see something from a different perspective.

bridge
named Fremont
under five minutes
it’s not that long
patience

Moving bridges are nothing new to those of us who hail from Chicago, but this one is a particularly good one despite the bad paint job. Some drawbridges take a long time to go back down after being raised, but this one gets down… I mean this bridge gets DOWN. (fast.)

I’ve seen bridges before.
Not as grand as Golden Gate or Sagamore Bridge, but it gets the job done.

I’m on a bridge. see you on the other side!

I’ve never actually eaten here, but I have walked across this bridge many times. It has never once «let me down.» And by «let me down» I mean I have not fallen into Lake Union bellow and drowned. I have also driven my car across this bridge dozens of times and, once again, I’m not dead yet. That makes me believe this to be a pretty spectacular bridge. It’s not snooty like that arrogant Aurora bridge with all its traffic and breathtaking views of Seattle and Mt. Rainier. The Fremont bridge is humble and pretty much keeps to itself. A good bridge that will even let your bigger-​than-​my-​house midlife crisis yacht-​mobile through by raising itself if necessary.
As far as bridges go, it’s got everything I expect and then some.

This picturesque little bascule bridge is the first of its type along the ship canal, and is apparently the single most active bridge in the United States! It has great character, and a fantastic view from the walking lanes on either side– very worthy of a camera shot or two. If one walks a little to the west along the Canal, there is a nice strip of the Burke-​Gilman Trail that runs alongside the canal. This is a great place to watch the bridge go up and down with the ship traffic!