Construction crews have begun work on Northeast Eighth Street to add a third westbound lane between 106th and 108th avenues. The project will create a right-lane turn lane onto northbound 106th Avenue, with work scheduled until July.

During construction, the two westbound lanes will be shifted to the south and one eastbound lane of Northeast Eighth Street will be closed. The sidewalk north of Eighth Street also will be closed during construction, with a new six-foot-wide sidewalk eventually replacing it.

Transportation officials expect the project, budgeted at $4 million, to remove a downtown chokepoint for westbound drivers on Northeast Eighth Street, improving traffic flow toward Bellevue Way.