Nearly a decade of work scheduled for I-405 corridor
Dec 16, 2015, 11:51 PM | Updated: May 7, 2016, 11:52 pm
Just as drivers are getting used to the new express toll lanes on I-405, another nine years of construction on the corridor is about to get underway.
Construction is set to begin next year on the second phase of the I-405/SR 167 corridor.
This work will focus on where SR 167 meets I-405 in Renton. It will provide a direct access ramp from the HOV lanes on SR 167 to I-405.
Related: WSDOT caught off guard by I-405 toll lane drivers
Kim Henry is in charge of the corridor for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Henry says that ramp and interchange improvement project should take about three years.
Just as that work is ending around 2019, the state will start widening I-405 between Bellevue and Renton.
“That, today, is our most congested corridor section within the state, so that is really a high-priority need,” Henry said.
But as was the case with I-405 north of Bellevue, the lanes added between Bellevue and Renton will be added to the express toll lane system and not the general purpose lanes. That means there will be two general purpose lanes and two express toll lanes south of Bellevue.
That widening project should wrap up by 2024.
The price tag is more than $1 billion.
