520 Weekend Closure to End Noon Sunday for Sounders Game

While the State Route 520 Bridge will be closed for construction this weekend, the weekend closure will end mid-day Sunday in time Seattle Sounders fans to make kickoff, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.

Construction crews kick off another State Route 520 closure this weekend, but to avoid getting a yellow card from fans rushing to make the Seattle Sounders kickoff, crews will open the roadway to traffic by midday Sunday, Oct. 21. 

“We want to be sure our crews open the road before match day traffic picks up,” said Brian Dobbins, construction manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s SR 520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project. “Drivers should plan ahead and be prepared for delays while the highway is closed.”

Both directions of SR 520 and all connected ramps between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and Interstate 405 in Bellevue will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, to noon Sunday, Oct. 21, according to the state.

Construction this weekend will include the installation of 34 concrete girders at the new 84th Avenue Northeast lidded overpass, according to the state. Each girder is up to 75 feet long and weighs as much as 85,000 pounds, according to the state.

The crew can complete the lid deck of the 84th Avenue Northeast lid after these girders are installed, according to the state. 

The 84th Avenue Northeast lid is one of three lids that the state is installing as part of the reconstruction of State Route 520.

Crews will also shift eastbound traffic to the north at Evergreen Point Road as they make room to build a new median transit stop. Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, drivers should use extra caution adjusting to the new lane alignment.

The 520 closure is related to the $306 million State Route 520 Eastside Transit and HOV project. 

The project will:

• Widen SR 520 and create carpool lanes in both directions.
• Widen the shoulders, so disabled vehicles will not block the lanes of traffic.
• Create three landscaped lids over SR 520, two with access to new transit stops.
• Add a bike and pedestrian lane to SR 520.
• Create environmental improvements, including improvements to streams and noise barriers. 

As part of a separate project, the state is also building the replacement to the 520 Bridge deck, which is expected to be completed by 2014.

Oct. 19 - 21 closure details

Crews will close both directions of SR 520 and all connected ramps between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and Interstate 405 in Bellevue from 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, to noon Sunday, Oct. 21. Drivers will need to take Interstate 90 or find alternate routes around Lake Washington.

During previous SR 520 closures, the longest delays on I-90 happened Saturday afternoon. To help keep traffic moving, the I-90 express lanes will remain open westbound from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, then switch at 3 p.m. to eastbound traffic. On Sunday, Oct. 21, the lanes will remain open westbound from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and to eastbound traffic by 7:30 p.m.

Closure information and detour maps are online. Night work is planned, so residents near the work zone may be affected by construction noise.

-- Information from the Washington State Department of Transportation