The trail across the 520 Bridge will be fully closed for two weeks starting January 19 as crews work move the walking and biking route in Montlake into its permanent alignment and install an overhead sign.
The closure begins alongside a weekend of major work that will also close Montlake and Lake Washington Boulevards to motor vehicles. There will be a walking and biking path through the Montlake Blvd. work zone, but not across Lake Washington. Or at least, maybe not. WSDOT updated the construction notice over the holiday weekend to add this intriguing line:
All trail users will need to find alternate routes. WSDOT is looking into ways to accommodate people who use the trail during this closure. Those accommodations are not finalized yet, but WSDOT wants to make sure the public is aware the work is coming.
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Very mysterious. Assuming the closure goes ahead as currently planned, this would be one of the longest closures of the 520 Bridge trail yet. Late January is probably the least bad time of the year for such a closure since ridership typically at its low point. On the other hand, cold and rainy days do make the long detours that much more difficult for the people who are riding. The only bike detour options are to go all the way around the north end of the lake or to detour down to the I-90 Bridge, both of which add a lot of miles and time.
You can also put your bike on a bus to cross the lake. The most common buses that serve the SR-520 freeway stations are: Metro 255 (U District to Kirkland), Sound Transit 542 (U District to Redmond) and Sound Transit 545 (Downtown to Redmond).
Heading east, you can catch any of the U District-originating buses on the south side of NE Pacific Street near the UW Health Sciences Education building or on 15th Ave NE south of Campus Parkway.
Heading west, you can take the elevators at Evergreen Point or Yarrow Point to catch the 255, 542 (to U District) and 545 (to downtown). You can also catch Metro 271 (U District to Bellevue/Issaquah) on 84th Ave NE just south of 520 in Medina.
Also be aware that on days the Montlake ramps to 520 are closed, such as the January 19 weekend, the U District buses will be on significant reroutes. Check the Metro and Sound Transit websites for plan your time accordingly.
Comments
5 responses to “Alert 1/19-2/2: 520 Bridge Trail will be closed for two weeks”
It’s a shame they can’t just run a dedicated bike shuttle from Husky stadium across the bridge for the duration of the closure, at whatever frequency makes sense.
Per the article, every bus crossing 520 (including 271 if you are going to Bellevue) is a bike shuttle. Microsoft employees have their own dedicated shuttle departing from Husky Stadium.
“Heading east, you can catch any of the U District-originating buses on the south side of NE Pacific Street in front of UW Medical Center or on 15th Ave NE south of Campus Parkway.”
Not quite; Route 255 has a different eastbound pathway via NE Pacific Place and Montlake Boulevard NE. Eastbound routes 271 and 542 serve the stop next to the UWMC ER.
Thanks. I updated it to say the stop in front of the health science building, which is the stop before the 255 diverges.
While the closure is disappointing, I do at least give WSDOT credit for combining as many construction activities as possible into one closure, and making a real effort to keep the closure brief, relative the amount of work they need to do.
There are probably many other DOTs in other states that would have simply closed the trail for the entirety of the multiyear Montlake lid construction, and I am very pleased that WSDOT is not doing that.