SEATTLE — Drivers in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood and coming and going from the Eastside should prepare for what officials call “monster” closures, as crews hustle to make progress on Montlake Boulevard and the 520 bridge.
A few things are happening simultaneously.
One, people in their cars crossing Lake Washington should plan to use I-90 this weekend and next.
Westbound 520, between I-5 in Seattle and Clyde Hill, will close Friday night at 11 p.m. so workers can do paving on the 520 bridge and the highway’s on- and offramps. One eastbound lane will remain open Friday night and Saturday morning, as crews perform maintenance on the neighboring I-90. But by Saturday at 9 a.m., 520 will close in both directions.
The bike and pedestrian path over the bridge will remain open.
At the same time, Montlake Boulevard near the University of Washington, which carries more than 60,000 drivers a day, will close at 10 p.m. Friday and reopen July 24. That’s so the Washington State Department of Transportation can straighten out the busy corridor. During construction, it’s had a small curve that can sometimes cause bottlenecks near the drawbridge over the Montlake Cut that will be gone when cars return.
“It’s sort of a double whammy where we’ve got 520 closed and Montlake closed all at the same time for about 10 days,” said WSDOT spokesperson Steve Peer.
Weekend 520 closures have become almost routine as the state Transportation Department works to finish the nearly half-billion-dollar 520 Montlake Project. When it’s finished in 2024, a new 3-acre park with plantings and walkways will sit over a portion of the highway. There will also be a massive bike and pedestrian bridge circumventing the chaotic Montlake traffic, new transit access and long on- and offramps for drivers going between the Eastside and Seattle.
Significant progress has been made in recent months, especially on the Montlake lid: Crews have installed 513 girders and completed most of the paving, giving shape to the large project that will open up the frenetic area that spans 520.
WSDOT rarely does back-to-back weekend closures, but the need to do so reflects the size of the job, said Peer.
“Stay away from the area and plan your trips ahead,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cascade Bicycle Club’s annual Seattle to Portland ride is also this weekend. The organization is expecting 5,500 riders, all leaving from Husky Stadium on Saturday morning. The route does not include Montlake Boulevard, but it does cross 24th Avenue East, heading into the Arboretum — an additional reason drivers may want to avoid the area altogether.
“Cascade Bicycle Club asks that people driving exercise care and caution around people on bikes,” said spokesperson Paul Tolmé.
The upcoming closures come while the weather is favorable, most of the University of Washington is out for summer and college football hasn’t yet begun.
Still, it’s not the end of construction in the area, which is scheduled to continue into 2024. Short term, drivers can expect three more weekend 520 closures in August; on Aug. 19 and 20, there will also be a closure on I-405.
Additionally, East Lake Washington Boulevard between Montlake Boulevard and 24th Avenue East, parallel to 520, will close between July 24 and Aug. 8.
