The Lake Washington Urban Partnership is a cooperative agreement to employ innovative traffic management tools for improving traffic flow along State Route 520 and Interstate 90 between Seattle and the Eastside. The agreement calls for a new variable tolling system that could improve traffic flow on the SR 520 corridor and provide up to $500 million to replace the aging SR 520 Lake Washington floating bridge.
The Urban Partnership, an agreement between the federal government, WSDOT, King County and the Puget Sound Regional Council, includes four key strategies, known as the four T's:
The SR 520 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge
What it means for Washington
- Up to $41 million to purchase 45 new buses and other transit improvements along the SR 520 corridor
- $86 million to develop new traffic management technology, including and traveler information systems to support tolling operations on the SR 520 Bridge
- Up to $11.6 million to improve state and county ferry service
SR 520 corridor right for partnership
Connecting I-5 in Seattle to I-405 and the region's hi-tech industry center, the SR 520 corridor is congested, and its floating bridge needs to be replaced. Completed in 1963, the SR 520 Bridge (both Evergreen Point and Portage Bay bridges) carries about 110,000 vehicles each day, almost double the capacity for which it was designed. The bridge is vulnerable to windstorms and earthquakes and at risk of collapse if not replaced.
Tolling on the SR 520 bridge could begin as early as next year to help pay for construction of a replacement bridge. Electronic tolling along with other new technology also could help ease congestion by better managing traffic demand and providing drivers with real-time traffic information to make better decisions in their commute.
For additional information, see the folio (pdf 1.5 Mb).
Did you know?
The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge was tolled from the time it was completed in August 1963 until it was paid off in June 1979. Tolls generated about $60 million.
As many as 160,000 people cross the SR 520 floating bridge each day.
The replacement bridge will be designed to withstand earthquakes and windstorms up to 92 mph. |
Bridge animation
This animation simulates what might happen to the SR 520 Floating Bridge during a severe earthquake.
View the video on one of these links:
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For more information contact:
Patty Rubstello, PE,
Tolling and Systems
Development Engineer
Urban Corridors Office
401 2nd Ave. S, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-464-1299
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