Kirkland to be cut in half this weekend due to I-405/NE 85th Street Interchange
Jul 23, 2024, 6:27 AM
Map of the I-405/NE 85th Street Interchange Project. (Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
(Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
How do you make room for a bus stop in the middle of the freeway? You move the freeway — and that’s what’s happening on Northeast 85th Street in Kirkland.
Sound Transit’s new Bus Rapid Transit line on Interstate 405 (I-405) includes a new direct access ramp and bus stop in the middle of the freeway at 85th. To squeeze it in there, the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is moving I-405 to the east and the west, building new bridges over 85th Street. And that leads us to this weekend’s full closure of 85th.
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WSDOT Communications Specialist Craig Smiley said they will be drilling shafts for the new bridge columns this weekend.
“We need to get some big equipment in there, and we’re starting to work to install some shafts that will eventually hold up northbound and southbound I-405,” Smiley told KIRO Newsradio.
Northeast 85th Street will be closed between 120th Avenue on the east and Kirkland Way on the west. The closure starts at 9 p.m. Friday and lasts through early Monday morning, meaning you won’t be able to use 85th to get to Costco if you’re coming from the west of I-405. The ramps to and from 85th Street will also be closed.
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WSDOT Project Engineer Steve Beadle said there will be plenty of signs to get you around this.
“People that get to the interchange will be directed down to either 70th Steet or, as they approach it, the detour will take them up to 116th in Totem Lake to get off,” Beadle said.
“We don’t expect a whole lot of mainline impacts specifically from this work, other than if we get some people rubbernecking looking at that equipment,” Smiley added. “Hopefully that won’t be the case.”
A little more on this interchange. It is very unique. When it’s finished, this will be a three-level interchange. 85th Street will be on the ground. The direct access ramp and bus stop will be one level higher in the middle of the freeway, but the freeway itself will be up another level.
“It’s actually a pretty unique design,” Smiley said. “I don’t know if I’ve seen anything like it in the country, but it’s very efficient.”
So WSDOT is moving the freeway, building the bridges and getting traffic on them first. Then it will pivot to build the bus stop in the middle. The new bridges should be finished in early 2025. The entire interchange should be finished in late 2026.
But again, for this weekend, Northeast 85th Street will be closed under I-405 from Friday night through Monday morning.
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