Reminder: Weekend 520 Bridge Closure Feb. 1 - 3

State Route 520 Bridge will be closed all weekend for construction, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The weekend closure of SR 520 is scheduled from 11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1 to noon Sunday, Feb. 3. SR 520 will be closed from Montlake Boulevard in Seattle to Interstate 405 in Bellevue

Crews are taking advantage of the full highway closure to tackle other critical work that can only happen while the road is closed, according to the state. Drivers will need to take Interstate 90 across Lake Washington or find a way around the lake.

Drivers will need to take I-90 or find alternate routes around Lake Washington. SR 520 will remain open between I-5 and Montlake Boulevard and east of I-405.

 According to the state, during previous SR 520 closures, the longest delays on I-90 occurred in the afternoon. To help keep traffic moving,WSDOT is adjusting the reversible I-90 express lanes schedule so that the I-90 express lanes will be open to westbound traffic from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Express lanes will open to eastbound traffic by 3 p.m., the state said in a press release.

Closure information and detour maps are online. Night work is planned, so residents near the work zone might hear construction noise.

During the closure crews working on the SR 520 Eastside project will shift fiber optic lines critical to the region’s highway cameras and traffic information systems, according to a state press release. Crews also will install new sign structures for SR 520's  driver information system.

The work is necssary before traffic shifts onto a newly widened section of the highway, which will happen later this year, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The construction is part of the state's $4.65 billion plan to improve SR 520 from Seattle to Redmond. Improvements include landscaped lids over portions of 520, a wider roadway, increased carpool lanes, a bicycle and pedestrian lane and environmental upgrades and a new bridge deck.

Coming up

Next week, the Washington State Department of Transportation will hold open houses in Bellevue and Seattle on the construction and design of the 520 Bridge, including information about the connection between the bridge and the Montlake Boulevard interchange in Seattle.

The open houses will be from 4:30-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 at the North Bellevue Community Center, 4063 148th Ave. NE in Bellevue, and 4:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 at St. Demetrios Church, 2100 Boyer Ave. E in Seattle.

Get more information about the 520 Bridge meeting.

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