Washington Department of Transportation has sent its final report for the restructuring of State Route 520 to the state legislature.
The final report focused primarily on tweaks to the Montlake entrance and surrounding features.
Next year, WSDOT is scheduled to begin building pontoons in Grays Harbor for the new bridge, start construction on Eastside highway, interchange and HOV improvements, and hire a contractor to build a new floating bridge across Lake Washington.
The final Environmental Impact Statement for the preferred alternative of Interstate-5 to Medina is expected to be released in Spring 2011.
The preferred alternative includes a new floating bridge and highway with six lanes, providing two general-purpose lanes and a new transit/high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction.
The construction of a new floating bridge is one of a number of changes to come to the popular commuter route in the next few years.
WSDOT plans to hire a team of designers and contractors by the end of the year to build the transit and HOV project that will improve trips for carpools and bus riders from Medina to Bellevue. The Eastside project is estimated to be valued at $325 million to $425 million.
Automatic tolling starts on the SR 520 floating bridge in spring 2011. Drivers can sign up to receive information online.
The Legislature set the SR 520 program budget at $4.65 billion for improvements from I-5 in Seattle to SR 202 in Redmond. Toll revenue and state and federal funds provide about $2.37 billion for the SR 520 improvements. WSDOT will continue working with the state Legislature to identify additional funding for other improvements in the corridor.
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