80th Ave SE to I-90 Ramp Closure Begins January 23

The following information is from the City of Mercer Island:

Stage 2 of the I-90 Two-Way Transit and HOV Operations project is nearing completion in mid-February. But before the new HOV lane opens in the outer roadway of eastbound I-90, WSDOT must close the existing reversible access ramp to the center roadway at 80th Avenue Southeast on Mercer Island and reconnect it to the outer roadway.

The 80th Ave SE reversible I-90 Express Lanes ramp will close Jan. 23, and remain closed to all traffic for up to four weeks.

The closure is expected to last approximately three weeks, and most of the work will be done during daytime hours. Crews will be moving barriers and restriping to realign the ramp and connect it to the new outer roadway HOV lanes.

The existing 80th Ave SE ramp serves as a reversible center roadway express lane ramp for transit, HOVs and Island residents when the express lanes are westbound.

During the closure, all traffic including transit and carpools will need to use the outer roadway to access Mercer Island exits when the center express lanes are westbound. Buses and HOVs that normally use the 80th Ave SE ramp to enter express lanes when they are eastbound may use the Island Crest Way on ramp.

When the ramp work is done, the ramp will no longer be reversible. It will serve only as an on ramp to eastbound I-90 for transit and HOV traffic exclusively. It will provide smooth, direct access to the new HOV lane, the far left lane of the outer roadway.

Completion of the ramp work also will signal completion of Stage 2 of I-90 project, which adds an HOV lane to I-90’s eastbound outer roadway from 80th Ave SE to Bellevue Way. Stage 3 of the project is currently in design. This final stage will add new outer roadway HOV lane in each direction from about 80th Ave SE to Rainier Ave. in Seattle.