Eastbound SR 520 bridge closed June 8

June will be a busy time for construction on the State Route 520 floating bridges, and the Washington State Department of Transportation is asking drivers to plan ahead to keep traffic moving during two of the month’s weekends.

In a month packed with graduation ceremonies, sporting events, the Pride Festival and many other civic happenings, drivers should also prepare for an eastbound, weekend SR 520 bridge closure beginning Friday, June 5, and a full bridge closure the weekend of June 26.

All eastbound lanes on the SR 520 bridge will be closed between 92nd Avenue Northeast and Montlake Boulevard until 5 a.m. Monday, June 8. Drivers heading east after a Mariners or Storm game or the Shania Twain concert June 5–7 should plan to use Interstate 90 or another route around Lake Washington. During the closure, crews will install new toll equipment, rate signs, and perform road maintenance along SR 520 near 84th Avenue Northeast.

“We plan to relocate the tolling spots on the bridge to make room for construction activities on the new floating bridge,” said WSDOT Roadway Toll System Manager Jennifer Charlebois. “The new toll equipment is only in test mode for now– drivers can expect to see flashing lights and sign displays before it goes live later this year but they won’t be tolled twice at a time.”

The final phase of this process will be to move the toll equipment to its permanent location closer to the water once construction is complete.

Upcoming SR 520 closures

The rest of the month will be busy for both construction and public events, and WSDOT is scheduling its work to avoid the busiest weekends.

• The eastbound 84th Avenue Northeast off-ramp and one general-purpose lane will be closed at times the weekend of June 12–15, but construction crews will stop work in the late afternoon to accommodate University of Washington graduation travel.

• Both directions of the SR 520 bridge will be closed the weekend of June 26–29 for bridge-widening construction.

During the SR 520 closures, drivers can use Interstate 90 or an alternate route around Lake Washington, take public transportation or delay trips until after SR 520 reopens.

Tools for drivers

• For information on road closures associated with SR 520 construction, please visit the SR 520 Orange Page and follow the project on Twitter.

Visit WSDOT’s What’s Happening Now website for a 24-hour highway construction look-ahead.
Get traveler information on your mobile device or find information on Seattle area traffic.
View traffic cameras or find travel alerts.
Call 511 for traffic updates.
Tune to highway advisory radio and watch electronic highway signs for information.