520 bridge to close Mother's Day weekend | Department of Transportation

520 bridge to close Mother’s Day weekend | Department of Transportation

Anyone who wishes to reach Seattle via State Route 520 Mother’s Day weekend should prepare for a weekend-long closure of the highway’s westbound lanes across Lake Washington.

Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will use the May 9-12 closure to pour the first batch of concrete – up to 30 truckloads – for the roadway deck on the new West Connection Bridge.

SR 520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project crews will also close the on-ramps from 108th Avenue Northeast to both directions of SR 520 to complete paving in that area.

Friday night, May 9, to Monday morning, May 12:

Crews will close both westbound lanes of SR 520 from Interstate 405 to Montlake Boulevard at 11 p.m. Friday, May 9.
Drivers crossing Lake Washington westbound should plan to use Interstate 90 or another alternate route around the lake.
All lanes will reopen between I-405 and 92nd Avenue Northeast by 10 a.m. Sunday, May 11.
Westbound SR 520 will remain closed between 92nd Avenue Northeast and Montlake Boulevard until 5 a.m. Monday, May 12, when it reopens in time for the morning commute.
The 108th Avenue Northeast on-ramps to westbound and eastbound SR 520 will also close from 11 p.m. Friday, May 9, to 5 a.m. Monday, May 12.
Eastbound SR 520 will remain open through the weekend.

First of several SR 520 bridge closures as construction season heats up:

Over the May 30 to June 2 weekend, the SR 520 bridge is scheduled to close in both directions for construction work.
All lanes of the bridge will also shut down the following weekend, June 6 to 9, with additional construction closures slated for later in the season.

“The big payoff for drivers is when the new SR 520 floating bridge opens in spring 2016,” says Floating Bridge and Landings Manager Dave Becher of WSDOT. “Besides two general-purpose lanes in each direction, the new bridge will have HOV/transit lanes and a wide path for walkers and bicyclists. What’s more, it will be structurally safer, replacing a more-than-50-year-old bridge that’s vulnerable to wind and earthquakes.”

WSDOT posts information about construction closures and nighttime work on the SR 520 Orange Page, the interactive construction and driver planning tool for the SR 520 program. The SR 520 website also provides information on the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program.