New I-90 HOV Lane Open Between Mercer Island and Bellevue

The Washington State Department of Transportation has opened of the new HOV lane on eastbound I-90 from Mercer Island to Bellevue.

Mercer Island's 80th Avenue Southeast on-ramp now has direct access to eastbound I-90’s new mainline HOV lane.

The opening marks the completion of the second phase of the I-90 Two-Way Transit and HOV Operations project.

Stage Two includes the new ramp and eastbound carpool lane between Mercer Island and Bellevue and helps improve bus travel times for King County Metro and ST Express buses, according to a City of Bellevue news release.

With phase two complete, so are full-time HOV lanes in both directions of I-90 between Mercer Island and Bellevue.

Currently in design, the project’s third and final phase will extend full-time HOV lanes in both directions between Mercer Island and Seattle and set the stage for Sound Transit's East Link light rail.

That stage is under final design and will make improvements to both westbound and eastbound I-90 between Seattle and Mercer Island, according to a city of Bellevue news release.

The project's funding partners are: Sound Transit, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration and the state Department of Transportation, the city of Bellevue said in a news release. The planning partners are King County Metro and the cities of Seattle, Mercer Island and Bellevue, according to the release.

-- Information from Mercer Island Patch and the City of Bellevue