SEATTLE — Commute times into Seattle via State Route 520 will likely increase for the next three years due to a 1.5-mile lane closure.
The HOV lane on the floating bridge is now closed as drivers approach Montlake, forcing approximately 4,000 buses and carpool vehicles to merge with two general purpose lanes. Previously, the HOV lane would transition to a general purpose lane and continue into the city.
The closure allows construction crews to create a work zone and build new eastbound lanes between Montlake Boulevard and the floating bridge.
The eastbound lanes will be reduced to two over the weekend of November 9-10, if the weather cooperates.
The closures will last until early 2023, according to the state.
State transportation officials are monitoring drive times across the bridge. They didn't have enough data to know how much longer commutes will be, "but they will be longer," according to Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson Steve Peer.
Drive times increased for westbound drivers during the first two days of lane closures Oct. 14-15. On the afternoon of Oct. 17, westbound 520 traffic was backed past I-405, according to a tweet from WSDOT.
Peer suggests drivers take public transportation, carpool, or bike to reduce time spent sitting in traffic.
Still, the impact will likely be felt until the project wraps up.
The approximate 4,000 vehicles a day that use the westbound HOV lanes on SR 520 represent about 10% of all westbound traffic, according to WSDOT. That equates to an estimated 28,000 people, according to WSDOT.
King County Metro operates 10 Metro routes and six Sound Transit routes that use 520. As of March, Metro buses made 198 westbound trips per day, according to spokesperson Jeff Switzer. Average weekday ridership for westbound Metro routes in March was 7,913. Sound Transit routes operated by Metro made 175 westbound trips for a total ridership of 6,683.
On weekdays, a manual count of total Sound Transit Express bus trips from published schedules showed a total of 241 westbound trips and 242 eastbound trips. On weekends there are 89 in each direction, according to Sound Transit spokesperson Rachelle Cunningham. Average total weekly ridership for these routes during the second quarter of 2019 was 17,771, according to the latest report.
Community Transit operates one route that crosses the 520 Bridge – two trips in the morning and two in the afternoon. The first morning trip crosses the bridge just after 6 a.m. and Communications Manager Martin Munguia says they don't expect delays on that. The second trip across the bridge around 7:30 a.m. could see delays between 5-10 minutes, according to Munguia.
Munguia says Community Transit doesn't expect delays for eastbound routes in the afternoon because the lane configuration goes from two lanes to three.
About 50 people use the morning and afternoon service from Community Transit.
Three years of additional delays on 520 is expected to pay off. Crews will build a stronger West Approach Bridge South that will carry three lanes of eastbound traffic to the bridge. A new lid and transit hub will be built, as will a new SR 520/Montlake Boulevard East interchange. A bicycle and pedestrian-friendly "land bridge" over 520, east of the Montlake lid, will connect the Arboretum and areas to the north, including the U-District.
