Tag Archives: 520

$1.4B Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project moving forward with order to identify ‘cost reduction opportunities’

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Design concept for a new bridge over Portage Bay

An early rendering of the Roanoke Lid concept

Washington is moving forward with the 520 Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project even as it is still scrambling for the best way to pay for it.

WSDOT announced it awarded a contract for the job to Skanska on March 11th.

CHS reported in November on the $1.375 billion price proposal from Skanska for the contract — a bid 70% higher than the state’s estimate. An agreement with Skanska extended the window to accept the bid, giving Washington legislators “more time to address the funding gap” during its just-wrapped budget process, WSDOT says.

The new plan? Move forward with the $1.375 billion bid but find a way to cut costs and close the gap. WSDOT says legislators have ordered it to seek “cost reduction opportunities.” That could mean new, scaled back designs for the planned lid and new bridge. Continue reading →

WSDOT scrambling over $1.4B bid for 520 Portage Bay Bridge/Roanoke Lid project — 70% higher than expected

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(Image: CHS)

There is a new $1.4 billion price tag — and likely a new timeline — for the work on the westermost section of the 520 replacement project including a new Portage Bay Bridge and a lid connecting the Roanoke neighborhood over the highway.

State officials say the winning best bid from contractor Skanska is about 70% higher than what Washington State Department of Transportation planners were budgeting for and are now asking to extend expiration of the bid to give the legislature to somehow come up with extra hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for the project.

“With the support of the Governor’s office and transportation legislative leadership, we have begun negotiations with Skanska to extend their proposal validity through the end of the 2024 legislative session on March 7 (it was previously set to expire on Nov. 20, 2023),” WSDOT said in a statement on the bid. “We will continue to keep you updated once we have finalized a path forward.” Continue reading →

‘Feedback from neighbors’ halts work on massive Montlake sign bridges

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Work on a small — but surprisingly imposing — component of the $455.3 million Highway 520 project have come to a halt over neighbor complaints about new, oddly-looming sign bridges.

The Washington State Department of Transportation says crews have paused installation after two of the three massive structures were put in place and generated immediate complaints.

“We have received feedback from neighbors about the sign bridges and have paused installation of a third sign bridge pending additional community input,” WSDOT said about the situation. “It’s important to note the project area is still under construction.” Continue reading →

520 Montlake Project will bring weekend bridge closures for cars, 10-day boulevard shutdown

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WSDOT’s “Construction Corner” is a handy way to keep track of closures

The next few weeks will bring some traffic challenges around 520 as the Washington Department of Transportation project to replace the highway and add a new Montlake lid will require prolonged closures in the area.

WSDOT says starting the night of Friday, July 14th, Montlake Blvd will be closed to motor vehicles for ten days as crews complete utility work and realign the Boulevard and the eastbound on-ramp to SR 520 onto the newly constructed bridge. All associated 520 on-and off-ramps for Montlake Blvd will be closed during this time as well. WSDOT says a signed bicycle and pedestrian route through the work area during the closure. Continue reading →

WSDOT: Final girders placed as project to create new Montlake Lid and replace western portion of 520 bridge on track for end of year completion

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(Image: WSDOT)

(Image: WSDOT)

WSDOT is celebrating a milestone with the final placement of huge steel girders as it prepares for work on the “Montlake Project” to create an improved Montlake Blvd interchange, a landscaped lid over 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 to wrap up construction by the end of the year. Continue reading →

From the Central District to 520, six years of 23rd Ave road diet work comes to an end with final, modest changes in Montlake

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The new signalized crossing at E Lynn (Image: SDOT)

The Seattle Department of Transportation and director Greg Spotts have put a bow on six years of work to complete a more modest than originally planned road diet of the 23rd Ave/24th Ave corridor north of Madison into Montlake that was cut back over the years from a transformation of the two lane configuration of the busy street.

The corridor provides access to the Montlake neighborhood, SR 520, the Montlake Bridge into north Seattle, and parts of Capitol HIll and the Central District to the south and serves as a key transit route. The completion of the project comes as Montlake’s connections to 520 are still being rebuilt and a new freeway lid is under construction as part of the state highway’s long-running replacement project.

But unlike the corridor’s overhaul to single lane traffic south of Madison, SDOT backed off a similar reconfiguration through Montlake meaning residents and pedestrians must today still cross four lanes of traffic to move through the neighborhood even after the years of work.

SDOT tackled the 23rd Ave/24th Ave overhaul in three phases. The third and final phase of the project from E John to E Roanoke has now been completed, SDOT said this week. During this phase, improvements were made at the intersections at E John and E Lynn, including repairs to sections of sidewalk and the installation of new accessible curb ramps. Additionally, bus stops were upgraded and painted curb bulbs and posts were installed to improve visibility and safety for people walking and rolling. Continue reading →

Proposal would add support for highway lids — including lidding I-5 — in Seattle growth plan

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A 2018 concept of an I-5 lid (Images: Central Hills Triangle Collaborative)

The Seattle City Council land use committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday afternoon on a proposal to add support for efforts to build a downtown lid over I-5 to the city’s growth plan.

Council Bill 120462 would amend the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan’s Growth Strategy and Transportation elements to “support the use of lids and other connections to rejoin neighborhoods across State Highways and Interstate 5,” according to a memorandum on the proposal.

CHS reported here in 2018 on the long-simmering hopes of eventually covering I-5 between Capitol Hill and downtown with a lid home to housing, park space, and more. Proponents of the new push to change the city’s growth plan say the proposal would also be important for neighborhoods in the south and north of the city where state highways bisect neighborhoods, adding traffic, pollution, and noise. Continue reading →

Construction to shift lanes brings weekend closure of 520, permanent end for highway’s Arboretum onramp

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(Image: WSDOT)

The overhauled western segment of the 520 bridge and the new Montlake Lid are slated to be completed in 2024 (Image: WSDOT)

The walking, running, and rolling trail along it will remain open but 520 across Lake Washington — “the world’s longest floating bridge” — will be closed in both directions this weekend as the project to replace the last western segment of the route and create a new Montlake lid continues.

The closure also marks a smaller but important milestone for the neighborhood’s streets as the longtime onramp to the highway from Lake Washington Blvd is now closed — forever. Continue reading →

520 closure part of busy weekend of construction projects on Seattle freeways

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The Montlake lid (Image: WSDOT)

Seattle’s highways will be a bit tied up this weekend including a full closure of 520. Meanwhile, an important 520 off-ramp for Capitol Hill-area drivers will begin a long-term closure as the westbound Roanoke exit from the freeway will begin a 55-day shutdown for construction.

Over the weekend, 520 will be closed from Friday night into Monday as crews place bridge girders over the freeway as part of the Montlake lid project:

At 11 p.m., Friday, SR 520 will close around-the-clock until early Monday morning, July 11. Part of the SR 520 Montlake Project, the closure is needed to place bridge girders over SR 520 in the Montlake area.

Major construction is also planned on I-5 this weekend:

Beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 8, crews will reduce southbound I-5 to two lanes near the stadiums. All traffic will go through the collector/distributor lane. The eastbound and westbound I-90 ramps to southbound I-5 will be closed. Those ramps will open for two hours after stadium events.

Meanwhile, area drivers will not have access to the westbound 520 Roanoke exit for around three months.

For more details and information about the 520 Montlake Project, visit wsdot.wa.gov.

 

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Inslee’s proposed budget would fill in most of 520’s funding gap including money for a new Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid

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Design concept for a new bridge over Portage Bay

By Ryan Packer

As work in Montlake to create a new boulevard and park space on top of a new highway lid continues, state lawmakers will need to act relatively soon to keep the rest of the 520 bridge replacement project on track. The designs for a new Portage Bay Bridge and second lid at Roanoke are moving forward, but as of now, they aren’t fully funded. The budget proposal that Governor Jay Inslee released in advance of the January start of the legislative session includes a $400 million allocation to the 520 “West End” projects, an amount that should enable nearly all elements of the project to be completed, according to the latest cost estimates.

But those estimates have climbed. Continue reading →