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Commuters cross the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge during an afternoon commute.
See more photos.


Local residents visit the SR 520 Project booth at a Farmers Market. See more in the photo gallery. Currently runoff water drains into Lake Washington untreated. Proposed stormwater treatment wetlands at bridge columns would treat runoff before it enters the lake.

Project Facts

• If the floating bridge were to suffer a seismic or storm failure, travel time between Seattle and Redmond would nearly double from an average of 33 minutes to 55 minutes during the evening commute.
• Both the Evergreen Point Bridge approaches and Portage Bay Bridge have hollow columns that could fail during an earthquake.
• Since 1993, crews have had to seal close to 30,000 linear feet of floating bridge pontoon cracks.
  
  

Overview

Strong economies rely on effective transportation systems that move commuters, travelers and freight safely and efficiently and provide access to businesses and jobs. The new 4+2 lane SR 520 will improve safety and mobility, providing greater reliability for drivers and transit. A continuous high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction will complete the HOV system from Seattle to Redmond.

The existing SR 520 bridges are vulnerable to earthquakes and windstorms. The SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project will replace the aging bridges with safer, more reliable structures.

The six-mile project area begins at I-5 in Seattle and extends to 108th Avenue Northeast in Bellevue (just west of I-405).

Why is WSDOT pursuing this project?

SR 520 is one of two east-west crossings across Lake Washington. Approximately 155,000-160,000 people cross the SR 520 floating bridge (Evergreen Point Bridge) each day.

Built in the 1960s, without the benefit of today's design standards, the Evergreen Point Bridge and the Portage Bay Bridge are vulnerable to windstorms and earthquakes and are at risk of collapse if they are not replaced.

If either of these bridges or their approach structures were to collapse, it could cause serious injury or loss of life, and would overwhelm all major regional highways with re-routed traffic.

The End Result

The project will result in a six-lane SR 520 corridor replacement from I-5 to just west of I-405. The east-west corridor will have four general-purpose lanes and two HOV lanes (currently there are only HOV lanes east of the floating bridge).

The project will replace all existing bridges including the Portage Bay Bridge and Evergreen Point floating bridge with new, safer bridges that are designed to withstand earthquakes and windstorms. Commuters will benefit from better transit reliability and improved travel times between Seattle and the Eastside.

Project Benefits

Safety

The safer SR 520 bridges will be designed and built to:

• Withstand a 1,000-year event earthquake.
• Weather windstorms up to 95 mph.

Reliability

The 4+2 lane improved corridor will help keep people moving with:

• Two general-purpose lanes and one continuous high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction, keeping buses and carpools on schedule.
• Improved highway design, maximizing traffic flow and making it easier for transit and traffic to merge on and off the corridor.
• Improved shoulders, allowing disabled vehicles a place to pull out of traffic.

Mobility

The new SR 520 will move more people across Lake Washington to and from school, work, home, and recreation with more travel options than it does today:

• HOV lanes improve reliability for carpools and buses traveling between Redmond and Seattle.
• A bicycle/pedestrian path provides non-motorized users access to the corridor.
• Floating bridge pontoons will accommodate high-capacity transit (HCT) in the future. Transit agencies will be responsible for determining the best form of HCT for the SR 520 corridor.

Our Partners

WSDOT is the lead agency for the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project. Sound Transit and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) serve as project co-lead agencies.

In addition to partnering with our co-leads, we are collaborating with local communities, agencies, jurisdictions, and Tribal nations to ensure the most viable design, safety standards and transit connectivity in the corridor.

What is the project timeline?

• 2009 - Supplemental draft environmental impact statement
• 2010 - Final environmental impact statement
• 2012 - Construction begins
• 2014 - New bridge open to drivers
• 2016 - New six-lane corridor open to drivers
• 2018 - Project complete

View the updated Project Schedule (pdf 246 kb).

Public Involvement

Your opinions and participation in the project are important to us, and we welcome your involvement. Look for the SR 520 project booth at community outreach events this summer or contact us at the project office.

Environmental Protection

The SR 520 project is committed to being a good steward of the environment and neighboring communities. The SR 520 project will be designed and constructed with neighborhoods, the natural and built environments in mind.

The SR 520 project is committed to avoiding or minimizing the effects the project will have on surrounding natural resources. Mitigation is integral to and inseparable from the project. If project effects on natural resources can not be avoided, they will be mitigated.

Some of the environmental improvements of the project include:

• Stormwater treatment features to treat contaminated runoff water before it enters Lake Washington.
• Restoring and replacing wetlands affected by the project.
• Removing and replacing culverts that currently block fish from passing through streams in the project area.
• Sound walls along the corridor to reduce highway noise in nearby parks and neighborhoods.
• Landscaped lids covering portions of SR 520 to re-connect neighborhoods on both sides of the highway.

You can read more about how the SR 520 project could affect the built and natural environment in our draft environmental impact statement.

Increasing safety is one of our priorities

Current safety standards help keep drivers safe and traffic moving. The new SR 520 replacement corridor will be designed and built to todays safety engineering standards.

Will this project impact tribal resources?

The SR 520 project is seeking input from local Tribes in our planning process. We continue to work with the Muckleshoot, Tulalip, Snoqualmie, Suquamish, and Yakama Nation Tribes. WSDOT will continue to consult directly with these Tribes throughout project development.

At WSDOT we seek to address the concerns of the Tribes by using the process outlined in the WSDOT Tribal Consultation Policy adopted in 2003 by the Washington Transportation Commission as part of the WSDOT Centennial Accord Plan and Section 106 of The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

The NHPA was enacted to address the publics concern that many of the nation's historic resources were being overlooked in the public works project process. NHPA Section 106 requires government agencies such as WSDOT to evaluate the impact of all government-funded construction projects. Under the act, agencies maintain their own preservation program, and are required to incorporate advice from historic preservation professionals.

For more information, visit our WSDOT Tribal Liaison Web page.

Financial Information

The 2006 estimate for the 4+2 replacement with the Pacific Street Interchange was $4.38 billion. We estimate saving from $500 million to $700 million from accelerating the project schedule and reducing the number of pontoons. The new projected cost* of the project is $3.7 - $3.9 billion.

*The project impact plan due in December 2008 may adjust final project costs.

Identified SR 520 project funding sources include:

This table represents the funding sources and tolling options included in the project's January 2008 finance plan.

WSDOT has also received an Urban Partnership grant from the United States Department of Transportation to improve traffic through tolling, technology and traffic management, transit, and telecommuting.

How can I get more information?
Contact:
For comments and questions about the project, to schedule a community briefing, or to be added to the mailing or e-mail list, please fill out our contact form. 

To listen to a recording of the latest project information, please call the SR 520 project hotline at 1-888-520-NEWS (1-888-520-6397).

To contact the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project office by phone, call 206-770-3500.

To contact the SR 520 project office by mail:
SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project
Plaza 600 Building
600 Stewart Street, Suite 520
Seattle, WA 98101

Current SR 520 Bridge Traffic, Wind, Weather & Marine Stats

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