The South Park Bridge on 14th/16th Avenue South in south Seattle that spans the Duwamish River will close permanently to pedestrians and vehicles at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The 79-year-old bridge has reached the end of its life and must be closed for safety reasons, according to King County.

To help minimize traffic impacts, the county has been working with the city of Seattle and the Washington state Department of Transportation to optimize signal timing, add signage, electronic message boards and traffic cameras in addition to reconfiguring certain intersections to improve traffic flow. The transportation has also installed a traffic signal at the intersection of South Cloverdale Street and First Avenue South, which will improve traffic flow for vehicles entering the South Park neighborhood.

Closure of the bridge will also impact bus riders in the South Park and Georgetown communities. To minimize those impacts, three Metro Transit bus routes that carry more than 1,700 passenger trips across the bridge each day will be rerouted beginning at 5 a.m. June 30. Those bus routes include:

• Route 60 (White Center, South Park, Georgetown, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill)

• Route 131 (Des Moines, Burien, South Park, Georgetown, downtown Seattle)

• Route 134 (Burien, South Park, Georgetown, downtown Seattle)

Once the South Park Bridge is closed, its movable spans will be raised and secured in the open position to accommodate boat traffic. Later this year, the spans will be removed.