News of Madison Valley

A letter from Julie Meredith, WSDOT:

Greetings,

Another busy summer has passed and great progress has been made along the SR 520 corridor. The West Connection Bridge is nearing completion, new transit stops opened on the Eastside for riders at 92nd Avenue Northeast and Evergreen Point Road, and the floating bridge assembly is well underway on Lake Washington.

This month we reached another major milestone with the start of construction of the West Approach Bridge North Project (WABN). Please see below for additional information.

What to expect to during construction

Construction will begin in Seattle’s Montlake area and on Lake Washington’s Union Bay for the next three years as crews build the new WABN project. WSDOT is committed to construction management practices that avoid, minimize and mitigate the effects of our construction activities to neighbors, communities, and the traveling public. Our contractor will also implement industry-accepted best management practices. Here are some of the other things we’ll do:

· Provide the public with a variety of tools to reach us and stay informed.

· Construct local street improvements early on to help ease traffic during construction.

· Help balance weekday traffic on SR 520 and local streets by restricting some detours and closures to nights and weekends.

· Limit truck traffic on local streets.

We’ve mailed a notification flyer to Seattle residents within one mile of the SR 520 corridor, to detail the construction activities you’ll begin to see in September.

Public involvement during WABN construction

WSDOT will provide the community with multiple opportunities and tools to stay informed. For the latest construction information, you can:

· Call the SR 520 24-hour construction hotline at 206-708-4657 if you need to reach a project member immediately to address a construction issue or concern.

· Sign up to receive regular construction email updates. Look for the new alert called “SR 520 West Approach Bridge North Project” located under the “Construction Reports” section.

· Visit the SR 520 Orange Page to learn about upcoming construction activities, including highway closures and noisy work.

· Visit the WABN website to find general project information.

· Email project staff at with your questions about the project or construction activities.

· Follow WSDOT on Twitter to get key news and updates about the SR 520 Program.

· Attend the public open house and monthly construction update meetings with our contractor, Flatiron West, Inc. Meeting dates and locations to be announced soon. Sign up for the construction email updates for more information.

We understand that those who live, work and play in the area will be affected by major construction activities needed to build this project. We thank the public in advance for your patience as we work to replace the existing vulnerable structure.

The end result

The West Approach Bridge North will have solid columns and be built to modern seismic standards. The 1.2-mile-long structure will connect the new floating bridge’s three westbound lanes, including a dedicated transit/HOV lane and shoulders, to the Montlake interchange in Seattle. WABN will also extend a new 14-foot-wide regional bicycle/pedestrian path from the Eastside and floating bridge to Montlake and the University of Washington.

The new bridge will open to traffic in summer 2017.

For more information about the WABN design and how it will connect with the new floating bridge see the WABN folio online.

You can also watch our video which highlights the benefits of the completed project to the SR 520 corridor and the entire region.

Thank you again for your ongoing support in delivering this next critical phase of construction for the SR 520 corridor.

Sincerely,

Julie Meredith, PE
SR 520 Program Administrator
SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program
Washington State Department of Transportation
999 3rd Avenue, Suite 900 | Seattle, WA 98104