Drivers should prepare for several closures of the State Route 520 corridor Thursday night, Dec. 20. Three floating bridge drawspan openings are scheduled in the evening, as well as a full highway closure overnight.

SR 520 drawspan openings

Drivers should prepare for three scheduled openings of the SR 520 drawspan at 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Drawspan openings typically last up to 30 minutes, and are scheduled with advanced notice for vessels that can’t fit under the 45-foot-high west high rise. The eastern high rise is closed with staging equipment being used to construct the new SR 520 floating bridge, which will not have a drawspan when complete.

Drivers can sign up for automated alerts and find additional information on the SR 520 drawspan Webpage.

Dec. 20-21 overnight closure

Recent winter weather has washed away temporary lane striping and reflective buttons placed during SR 520 construction on the Eastside. With less rain projected for Thursday night, crews hope to refresh all paint lines and replace reflective buttons and barrier reflectors.

“As we get ready for a major holiday travel weekend, we want to make sure the highway visibility is clear and bright,” said Brian Dobbins, construction manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation. “Thursday night is our best bet for favorable weather before the holiday.”

Work will be completed by Eastside Corridor Constructors (ECC), a joint venture contractor currently building the new six-lane highway, fish culverts and lids from Medina to Bellevue.

Overnight closure details

• Crews will close both directions of SR 520 and ramps between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and I-405 in Bellevue from 11 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, to 5 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21.
• The 108th Avenue Northeast on-ramp to eastbound SR 520 will remain open to traffic.
• Two sections of SR 520 will remain open to traffic: Interstate 5 to Montlake Boulevard and areas east of I-405. Drivers will need to take Interstate 90 or find alternate routes around Lake Washington.
• Closure information and detour maps are online.

SR 520 Eastside project overview

Crews working on the Eastside Transit and HOV Project are widening SR 520 to six lanes between Medina and Bellevue, rebuilding interchanges, constructing highway lids and transit stops in the center of the highway and installing fish-friendly culverts. In 2010, WSDOT awarded a $306 million design-build contract to ECC, a joint venture of Granite Construction Company and PCL Construction Services. The completed Medina-to-Bellevue corridor is scheduled to open to traffic in December 2013.

More information about the SR 520 Eastside project is online at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/MedinaTo202.