The 520 Bridge replacement project’s final set of projects kicks into high gear this weekend with a set of major closures in Montlake, including the 520 Bridge Trail and the 24th Ave E bridge.
To make matters worse, the ramp closures mean no westbound bus access to Montlake. So you might not even able to put your bike on the front of a bus on the Eastside and expect to get off at Montlake (there will be some access on Saturday for the Husky football game).
The 520 Bridge Trail is scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday morning to serve the morning commute.
24th Ave E bridge is closed to biking and walking for good
Unfortunately, the 24th Ave E bridge will close to bikes permanently. You’ll have find your way to Montlake Blvd to head south. WSDOT will open a new trail connection to the east sidewalk of Montlake Blvd “in the coming weeks” for folks heading south. From there you can either turn down E North Street (again, Seattle, with the confusing street names…) to 24th Ave E and the Lake Washington Loop bike route.
WSDOT announced via Twitter that relief is coming “later this year,” though they do not have a more specific date. After eastbound traffic is re-routed via a temporary ramp, the trail will also get a temporary crossing. So stay tuned for details about that when we get them.
🚲🚲🚲Attention cyclists! Friendly reminder that the 24th Ave E overpass will close at 11 p.m. on 9/13. Later this year, a temporary trail will be built to connect the SR 520 Trail directly to E Lake Washington Blvd during Montlake Project construction🚲🚲🚲
— SR 520 (@wsdot_520) September 6, 2019
Comments
14 responses to “520 construction in Montlake will close cross-lake trail Sat and Sun, 24th Ave bridge until late this year”
They’re closing the 24th Ave bridge for good?! Didn’t it literally just open a year and a half ago?
I don’t understand, they are permanently tearing down the overpass? Why? Cyclists being able to bypass the Montlake and 520 on-ramp intersection is huge. Makes me want to cyclocross Foster Island instead…
It’s being replaced with the new Montlake lid that will serve the equivalent function, but better.
It’s unfortunate that the closest the 271 stops to 520 on the Eastside is 24th; it would be nice if Metro would add a stop on the Hunts Point lid for easier access to the 520 trail. Even so, the stop on 84th at NE 24th isn’t that far away, and would be closer than the Yarrow Point stop with the 542.
I can’t help but notice that they’re temporarily reopening the car exit for the Husky game, but not the bike path. This makes it needlessly cumbersome to attend the game by bike. With Montlake freeway station closed, transit, with it’s maximum capacity of 6 bikes per hour (routes 271 and 542) is not sufficient.
Is it that hard to move their construction equipment out of the way and reopen the trail when the car ramp is open?
This headline needs workshopping. I originally read that as the 520 bridge trail being closed for the rest of the year, and I immediately went into panic.
Sorry about that. I tried to clear it up.
Better, thanks!
Uggh. Using the sidewalk on the overpass that crosses 520 on Montlake Boulevard is a terrible experience on a bike. So is using the crosswalk at Lake Washington Boulevard.
The crosswalk at Lake Washington Blvd is a bit better now that there’s an all-way stop, but I hate riding on any sidewalks, and *really* hate riding on the sidewalks around Montlake with their root heaves, bad visibility, and worse driving than normal even for Seattle.
There’s also the Bill Dawson Trail that goes under 520 from the west side of Montlake Boulevard and ends at the Montlake Playfield. You can cross 24th at the light on McGraw and then head over a block to E Lynn and take the aquaduct into the Arboreteum to catch the new trail there.
Expect that to close too sometime in the next few months as construction ramps up. The WSDOT plans call for a complete rebuild of 520 in that area.
I noticed the signs saying that this would be closed last week. I cross here everyday on the way to work. I went back to the old way of riding the sidewalk all the way and crossing at the light on Montlake this morning. I noticed that it looked like cars were driving over the 24th Ave bridge. Are cars permitted now, but not bikes? Is it still open to bikes? Always hurrying a bit in the morning, so don’t want to cut down that block if it is closed to bikes. Heading toward the 26th Ave/Interlaken underpass. Thanks!
The light at Hamlin and Montlake is completely inadequate for cyclists crossing during rush hour. This infrastructure is now extremely dangerous for cycling.