Viaduct reopens early; 520 opens on time
Oct 7, 2016, 7:15 AM | Updated: Oct 13, 2016, 10:33 am
Drivers who rely on the 520 Bridge need to be prepared for the weekend closure. That's in conjunction with the weekend closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Update: SR 520 reopened Monday morning just before 5 a.m.
MORNING COMMUTE ALERT: SR 520 has reopened
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic)
Update: The viaduct on SR 99 through Seattle reopened on Saturday afternoon and will remain open on Sunday.
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The 520 floating bridge will remain closed until Monday morning..
The viaduct was expected to be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for a six-month inspection, but it re-opened early.
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Steve Peer with the Washington State Department of Transportation says 520 will be closed in both directions between Montlake and 92nd in Medina until 5 a.m. on Monday. Crews will be striping, paving, and doing drainage and lighting work. Crews from the toll division will be installing new equipment.
Peer says most of the work can be completed, even if it rains.
“We’ve got a lot of work to be done and we just kind of wanted to rip off the Band-Aid and do it all.”
If WSDOT didn’t do the work this weekend, it could result in up to three weeks of overnight closures.
There will be two big changes drivers will notice on Monday. Workers will re-stripe the left lane across the 520 floating bridge, turning some of the HOV lane — about 2,000 feet of it — into a general purpose lane to give drivers more opportunity to merge on the west end.
“What that will do is allow vehicles to have a better chance to merge between the three lanes of the floating bridge and the two lanes of the existing structure,” Peer said. This will allow for a smoother westbound commute, he added.
The other big change drivers will notice is a new set of tolling equipment over 520, closer to the water. When the state tied-in the new bridge to the system, it moved the tolling equipment to the east. The state is moving the equipment back to its permanent spot. Both tolling sites will flash blue when you go under them, but you will not be tolled twice.
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