SR 520, I-405 Closures Through September to Affect Eastside Drivers

Eastside drivers take note: The Washington State Department of Transportation is planning closures of State Route 520 and Interstate 405 through September. Take note of the following dates:

Nightly closures of Interstate 405, Sept. 12-15

Crews will shut down one direction of I-405 each night to set girders for the second half of the .  Northbound I-405 will beclosed between NE Eighth Street and SR 520 Monday and Tuesday nights;  Southbound I-405 will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday nights. These closures will take place from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night. Drivers should expect 15 minutes of additional travel time for the signed detour.

You can watch the snapshot progress of the girder setting using the WSDOT traffic cameras online.

This work is part of the Bellevue Braids Project, which will build new multi-level "braided" ramps to separate vehicles entering and exiting northbound I-405 between NE 8th Street and SR 520 in Bellevue, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Full SR 520 bridge closure Sept. 16-19

The Washington State Department of Transportation plans to  completely close the SR 520 floating bridge and highway from I-405 to Montlake Boulevard in Seattle from Sept. 16-19.

It is one of the scheduled closures as part of the , a $306 million project that will upgrade culverts, reconfigure the HOV lanes, add access for transit.

During this month's closure, crews will remove the western half of the Bellevue Way bridge to make room for a new, wider bridge. They will also install barriers and striping and repair potholes.

Detour signs will be posted around the corridor, but drivers are encouraged to plan ahead. The most up-to-date SR 520 construction information is found through the Eastside project page. The WSDOT also has a map of this month’s work (pdf 284 KB).

Weekend closure of I-405 Sept. 23-26

The Washington State Department of Transportation plans to open the new ramps that are part of the .  The state plans to shut down northbound I-405 for 53 hours starting Friday, Sept. 23 at 11 p.m. while crews connect the new on-ramps from NE Eighth Street to I-405 and from NE 10^th Street to SR 520. Once the ramps are open, Bellevue drivers will have direct access to the highways without the current weaving of merging traffic.