The new Northeast 10th Street bridge opened Tuesday in Bellevue, giving motorists more driving options heading into the holiday shopping season.

The $16-million overpass crosses Interstate 405 to connect Bellevue’s central business district with the growing medical corridor along 116th Avenue Northeast – which is home to offices for Group Health, Overlake Hospital, and soon Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The new bridge is expected to relieve congestion at the Northeast Eighth Street interchange.

Gas-tax increases from 2003 and 2005 helped pay for the project.

Officials from the state Department of Transportation, the city of Bellevue, and the state legislature joined Tuesday in a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction for the “Bellevue Braids,” which will add a new interchange between Northeast Eighth Street and State Route 520.

That $107-million project is expected to be completed by fall 2012, and is paid for by the gas-tax increases from 2003 and 2005.