New bridge girders span I-405 in Bellevue

December 11, 2008 4:44 pm
The state completed installing new girders for the Northeast 10th Street crossing over I-405 on Dec. 3. Concrete for the lanes will be poured in the coming months.
The state completed installing new girders for the Northeast 10th Street crossing over I-405 on Dec. 3. Concrete for the lanes will be poured in the coming months.

The final girder for the new Northeast 10th Street Bridge has been placed over I-405. The last girder was raised and bolted into place in the early morning hours of Dec. 3, ending two weeks of nighttime lane and ramp closures.

Rather than completely shutting down the freeway during construction, project engineers developed a plan to install girders in stages while keeping at least one lane open to traffic. Leaving a lane open in each direction during construction also eliminated the need to detour drivers off the freeway and onto Bellevue streets.

In all, crews installed 24 girders to build the backbone of the new bridge. The long curved girders crossing the freeway in Bellevue provide a new visual milestone for the bridge that is slated to open to traffic by the end of next summer.

Concrete will be poured for the bridge deck in coming months. When completed, the new crossing will relieve congestion on nearby Northeast Eighth Street and improve access to the growing Bellevue medical district.