“This project, with a $455 million contract cost, is part of the remaining $1.6 billion in SR 520 improvements from Lake Washington to I-5 – the ‘Rest of the West.’ These improvements are funded by the 2015 Connecting Washington transportation legislation.” (Image: WSDOT)

Some things, like speeding tickets issued near Montlake Elementary, will never change — also, apparently, the presence of the Montlake Market.

The new plan for keeping the store operating in the neighborhood — and the several construction elements that make up the Montlake Project of the state’s 520 replacement effort will be on the docket at two WSDOT open houses:

Graham, the project contractor, is hosting two open houses next week where you can talk with staff and learn about progress to date and what’s ahead.

• Date/time: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 4:45 – 6:30 p.m. (begins with presentation) and Wednesday, Dec. 11, noon – 1:30 p.m.
• Location: Montlake Community Center, multipurpose room, 1618 East Calhoun St., Seattle

There is a lot of big work to talk about including construction plans and final design work for…

• A new, seismically stronger West Approach Bridge South, parallel to the completed West Approach Bridge North, to carry three lanes of eastbound traffic past Montlake Boulevard East to the new floating bridge
• A community-connecting highway lid and transit hub at Montlake Boulevard East
• A rebuilt SR 520 / Montlake Boulevard East interchange
• A bicycle-pedestrian “land bridge” over SR 520, east of the Montlake lid, connecting the Arboretum and points northward, including the University District

Also expect some talk about the fate of the much-loved neighborhood market that has been the peculiar center of concerns and pushback around the state’s $1.6 billion SR 520 “Rest of the West” improvements from Lake Washington to I-5. The state acquired the property for $16 million as a staging and equipment area as it creates the improved Montlake Boulevard interchange, a landscaped lid over SR 520, a bicycle and pedestrian “land bridge” east of the lid, and a three-lane West Approach Bridge South over Union Bay for eastbound traffic.

The state has a new plan for saving the market — first, as a “20-ft x 40ft modular building” located somewhere on the property, later, with an opportunity for the state to resell the land with a little help from Olympia:

UPDATE: A WSDOT spokesperson said options for a new interim food or market operation aren’t limited to the modular option. A “food truck” could also end up as the solution at the site.

You can learn ore about the Montlake Project at wsdot.wa.gov.

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