The following is a release from the Washington State Department of Transportation:
This morning’s commute greeted carpoolers and bus riders with brand new HOV lanes on State Route 520 between Bellevue and Medina on the Kirkland boundary. Crews working on the SR 520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project placed the final lane striping over the weekend for the new HOV lanes. At 5 a.m. this morning, Sept. 15, the lanes opened to carpools of three or more people and transit for the first time.
“With these new lanes, we get closer to finishing extensive improvements to SR 520 on the Eastside,” said Julie Meredith, SR 520 Program Administrator for the Washington State Department of Transportation. “HOV lanes not only mean faster trips for those riding in them, but they can cut commute times for all users. This is exciting for everyone traveling the corridor.”
New SR 520 HOV lanes
New HOV lanes are now available to carpools of three or more people, vanpools, motorcycles and transit. The HOV lanes span approximately two miles between Bellevue and Medina. This heavily used stretch of SR 520 carries about 70,000 vehicles each weekday.
New roundabout
Crews also finished paving a new roundabout interchange at 92nd Avenue Northeast. The interchange primarily serves the cities of Medina and Clyde Hill, and the towns of Yarrow Point and Hunts Point.
West Connection Bridge
Construction of the new West Connection Bridge is expected to be complete today, Sept. 15. The structure, visible from the current SR 520 floating bridge, will connect the existing four lanes in Seattle with the new, six-lane floating bridge when it opens in spring 2016.
When the new West Approach Bridge North opens in 2017, it will carry three westbound lanes of traffic from the new floating bridge to Montlake. The existing lanes in Seattle will be restriped to carry three eastbound lanes of traffic from Montlake across the West Connection Bridge to the new floating bridge.
The opening of the new Eastside HOV lanes and completion of the West Connection Bridge are just two of many milestones for the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program.
The full Eastside Transit and HOV Project is scheduled for completion later this year. It includes new median transit stops, a regional bike and pedestrian trail, and a new, six-lane highway.
Construction of the West Approach Bridge North Project is set to break ground this month in Seattle. At more than a mile long, the structure, built to modern seismic standards, includes a westbound HOV lane and an extension of SR 520’s regional, cross-lake bicycle-pedestrian path.
