SR 520 ramp closed through February for vibration testing

“When will I be getting my lane back?” That’s the question from daily State Route 520 drivers trying to get to Interstate 5.

SR 520 drivers have been reaching out to me asking when the ramp from westbound 520 to southbound I-5 will go back to two lanes. The ramp capacity has been cut in half for a while now and has created daily backups from Montlake to I-5.

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During a recent tour of the Montlake construction zone, I asked the Washington Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Steve Peer when that second lane would be coming back.

“It’s going to be that way until February, so drivers should plan ahead,” Peer said. “It’s causing some extra minutes for drivers.”

WDOT’s traffic management center has noticed the backups, but there really isn’t much it can do to ease the congestion from there to I-5.

The contractor took that second lane to create a more expansive work zone for the new reversible flyover ramp connecting the 520 and the I-5 express lanes. A lane in between those express lanes has also been started for this project.

Peer said drivers have been doing a good job getting through the area, even with the extra minutes. “It has been manageable,” he said.

The flyover ramp is set to open in 2023 or 2024, about the same time as the Montlake portion of the 520 project wraps up, but Peer said we have a long way to go to put a bow on the whole project.

“We have about nine years of construction ahead of us,” Peer said.

And as I highlighted in a Chokepoint earlier this year, work on that Portage Bay section is already underway. The state recently drilled two test holes, one in Portage Bay and another just up on land, to check the soil and to do some vibration testing.

Peer said they want to ensure that the real work won’t create vibrations that will severely impact the neighborhood. How did the testing go?

“It went like we planned,” Peer said. “We had about a dozen monitors around, so it will really help us for the next phase of construction, which is the Portage Bay phase.”

There is a 520 closure coming up this weekend, but it’s only westbound, and it will be between 92nd Street on the east side and I-5, with eastbound lanes staying open.

Check out more of Chris’ Chokepoints.

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