This simulation shows Option A, one of three west side design options currently under environmental review for the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project. Option A is most similar to today’s configuration, with the addition of a second Montlake drawbridge over the Montlake Cut.
This WSDOT video depicts preliminary design information and is provided for informational purposes.
I am very pleased with the Option A. I work in Seattle and live in Kirkland and usually use my bike & bus, sometimes bus only and sometimes drive to Seattle. This plan looks great and although is not as ambitious as i had hoped I am pleased. It has a bike/ped lane, has HOV access with dedicated lanes and exits and other improvements. I wonder if it can handle the future addition of light rail in the futre?
Thanks for the simulation!!
Step in the right direction, but light-rail (support) needs to be part of the design and construction (only good idea Susan H. actually carried forward).
The choke-point where SR-520 meets southbound I-5 needs to be fixed, or we’ll just have a bigger parking lot across the lake (or maybe it’s the Convention Center choke that really needs fixing…). Putting HOV lanes and ramps on the “correct” side to reduce weaving in and out of traffic will hopefully at least provide some improvement, but building a new bridge w/o also looking at the whole picture makes little sense.
Bike/ped lane across bridge will have to be wider than its I-90 brethren, and should also incorporporate some “peninsulas” so people actually can stop half-way w/o blocking/risking to be run over by bike traffic. Bike lanes to/from bridge access needs to be upgraded to allow for “speedy” bikers (=wider lanes), else we’ll just have a nice path across the water, with no one using it.
Rail is never going across this bridge. Forget about it. There is no connection point on the west side. In fact Link design precludes it based on capacity restraints. Unless you make radical changes in North Link which is planned, funded and starting construction right now it’s never going to happen. Rail is using I-90. I don’t agree with that decision but it’s done.
A+ gets an F-. It will fail because the Pacific/Montlake intersection is already above capacity and the UW will not allow any additional capacity (nor should they) through the campus. In fact they have proved with a transportation plan implemented over a decade ago that it’s possible to limit vehicle trips while increasing the number of people accessing the campus. A+ will simply back up onto 520 resulting in the same level of frustration we have today. Greater when people realize they spent 4-6 billion dollars on the project that failed at every level.