May 2006 - Placing an initial layer of asphalt on the west ramps.
April 2006 - Looking west from the 142nd Pl. SE bridge. Crews work on the connections between the bridge and the new ramps.
April 2006 - This photo was taken from the 142nd Pl. SE bridge looking north toward the Eastgate Park-and-Ride garage. This is where the new ramps will connect to the 142nd bridge.
March 2006 - Crews set 21 bridge girders in the I-90 median in late March/early April. These form the framework for the short bridges that will connect the new ramps to the existing 142nd Pl. SE bridge (see photo below).
March 2006 - This photo was taken looking west from the 142nd Pl. SE bridge. Crews are building short bridges east and west of the existing bridge which will connect the 142nd bridge to the new ramps. The supports are in place and crews will set girders across them (see photo above).
Feb. 2006 - Looking west from the air. Notice the half-mile-long retaining wall we built on the south side of the freeway (left). The park-and-ride is to the right. This photo was taken the day before we reopened the 142nd Pl. SE bridge. We closed the bridge for a month to demolish portions of the bridge that will be connected to the new ramps in the median. Compare this aerial view of the median to one from last summer.
Feb. 2006 - Crews fill between the ramp walls and continue adding wall panels. The HOV lanes are closed daily to keep drivers safe as construction vehicles enter and leave the median work zone.
Jan. 2006 - Looking south across the 142nd Pl. SE bridge. Crews closed the bridge from Jan. 9 to Feb. 10 to demolish sidewalks and railings where the new ramps will connect to the bridge.
Jan. 2006 - A view westward from the 142nd Pl. SE bridge. The columns to support the west ramp are in place, and crews are building the outside walls of the ramps.
Dec. 2005 - The walls that will support the ramps grow higher as crews use machinery to place concrete panels. It will take more than 2,400 panels to create the outside walls of the ramps. The wall pictured above will contain 863 panels.
Nov. 2005 - Three of the six concrete columns that will support the new ramp on the east side of the 142nd Pl. SE bridge. You can see the steel framework for more columns on the other side of the bridge. In the center of the photo a form is being removed - forms are molds that hold the concrete in place while it sets.
Oct. 2005 - Pouring concrete to form the footing for the columns that will support the new ramps near the 142nd Place SE bridge.
Oct. 2005 - The eastbound I-90 lanes have been shifted to the south, providing more room for crews to work in the median. Compare this photo from early 2005.
Oct. 2005 - In the I-90 median a worker welds a steel cage that will serve as the skeleton for a column. The columns will support the HOV ramps near where they connect to the 142nd Place SE bridge. On the right a hoe ram breaks up old pavement next to the eastbound lanes for removal.
Oct. 2005 - Setting pre-cast concrete wall panels in the I-90 median for the new HOV ramps. Using already-manufactured wall panels speeds up construction (as compared to the traditional "cast-in-place" method of pouring the concrete on site and waiting for it to set).
Sept. 2005 - Preparing to pave in front of the new retaining wall along the south side of I-90. We'll shift the eastbound lanes closer to the wall to make room in the median for the new HOV ramps.
Aug. 2005 - Drainage work underway at the site of one of the new detention ponds at the existing I-90 Eastgate interchange (148th/150th/156th Avenues SE).
Aug. 2005 - Looking west from the 142nd Place SE bridge. Crews are excavating for drainage systems in the median. Notice the new retaining wall on the left (south side of the freeway).
July 2005 - An aerial view looking east at the 142nd Place SE bridge over I-90. The new HOV on- and off-ramps we'll build in the median here will increase speed and reliability for buses - like the one on the bridge in this photo - that are going to and from the Eastgate Park-and-Ride on the north side of the freeway (left).
July 2005 - A worker handles cables snaking back behind the new wall that retains the embankment below SE 36th Street, creating room to widen the freeway and add the new ramps in the median. The pipes on the ground will hold the cables for technological devices to help WSDOT monitor traffic conditions.
July 2005 - A worker uses a hoe ram to break up the pavement on the median shoulder of westbound I-90, behind the safety barrier. The pavement must be removed so crews can build the new ramps in the median and tie them into the existing HOV lane.
June 2005 - Crews build a temporary retaining wall to shore up the land along the south side of I-90 by placing timber in excavated areas between steel piles.
May 2005 - With eastbound I-90 traffic shifted north toward the median, crews begin preparing the south side of I-90 for construction of a half-mile long retaining wall.
Early 2005 - The 142nd Place SE bridge over I-90, looking south from the Eastgate Park-and-Ride. The direct access ramps will be built in the freeway median. View the artist's drawing of the new ramps, pictured looking north.
Early 2005 - The I-90 median, as seen looking east from the 142nd Place SE bridge. The new ramps to be built here will give buses, carpools and vanpools a direct connection between the bridge and the HOV lanes.
Early 2005 - The Eastgate Park-and-Ride, as seen looking north from the 142nd Place SE bridge. King County Metro completed the five-story parking garage in 2004, adding 1321 parking stalls to the park-and-ride lot. We expect the new direct access ramps to reduce bus travel times by approximately six minutes.