520 bridge closure: Be prepared for construction this weekend
Dec 9, 2016, 6:02 AM | Updated: Dec 11, 2016, 5:06 pm
The 520 bridge will be closed this weekend for overpass removal and a list of other items. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Construction across the 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington will keep it closed from late Friday night until Monday morning.
The bridge will be closed between Montlake and Medina as workers tackle a laundry list of construction items.
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“Every time we close like this we come up with a list of other things we want to do during the closure,” said Steve Peer with the Washington State Department of Transportation. “So we got a whole spectrum of things we are going to do. We are going to adjust some tolling equipment; we are going to do some re-striping; we are going to do some paving; we are going to work on the lights under the lids.”
Peer said the biggest line item is removing the old overpass from westbound Highway 520 to the Arboretum.
“That actually flies over 520,” Peer said. “And because it’s over live traffic and we want to remove that bridge, we’re closing all weekend to do that.”I
It’s not just as simple as knocking the overpass down. Part of the ramp extends over the lake and the wetlands, so workers want to keep any debris out of those sensitive areas. They will need two weekends for removal.
“This weekend we will get most of it taken off, and then we’ll have another closure probably in late January to complete it,” Peer said. “The debris has to fall down into waiting trucks and we don’t want the debris to get into the lake, so it’s very surgical in nature.”
Drivers will still be able to get from I-5 to Montlake during this closure. If you’re headed to the Husky basketball game Sunday evening, you will have to get to UW from I-5.
“(Highway) 520 will be open between I-5 and Montlake, so if you need to get to those neighborhoods, like U Village and whatnot, you can still access Montlake via I-5,” Peer said.
He says this work is not weather-dependent so it should go forward regardless what the weather does.
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