The bridge is one of the most important elements of the Grand Connection, a pedestrian corridor intended to stretch from Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Bay Park on Lake Washington to the Wilburton light rail station. Ultimately, that vision calls for a larger highway lid over I-405 to reconnect the city, complementing the pedestrian bridge.

After completing a type, size, and location study, Bellevue has narrowed in on a design for a bridge that is 30 feet wide at Bellevue City Hall plaza and widens out to around 40 feet over I-405. Two “nodes” on either side of the bridge will be even wider, providing space for seating and other amenities, including potential elevators. The renderings released this month show the bridge with separate biking and walking/rolling areas separated by planters, the design of which is pretty similar to the ones bordering the new bike path along the Seattle waterfront, set to open by the end of this year.

A survey active through October 30 asks respondents what uses they want the new bridge to accommodate, from picnicking to visiting a playground. Integrating placemaking into a new multimodal connections makes sense, but it’s not clear how many people will want to spend a significant amount of time outside so close to the highway.

Bellevue has been able to advance project planning thanks to a matching gift from Amazon in late 2022, and the city’s budget for 2025 includes an additional $15 million to conduct design and engineering work. However, the full cost for the project isn’t yet known, and Bellevue staff are considering ways to phase the project over time and utilize outside funding to get to the finish line.

The city is also is also intending to leverage two city-owned properties directly along the route, integrating them into the bridge: a small property formerly belonging to King County Metro near City Hall, currently used as a pop-up dog park, and a larger Lincoln Center property on the east side of the highway. Housing is on the table for either site, but the Lincoln Center property will likely see broader community uses, such as open space or an arts and culture venue.

“The Crossing really is an opportunity to connect two exciting parts of Bellevue together to a larger district or neighborhood,” Jesse Canedo, Bellevue’s chief economic development officer, told the City Council last week. “So we will be thinking about the opportunities for different civic uses, potentially on the ground floors or the podiums of buildings, floors one through four, stacked with housing, office, retail and other activities and uses that help push Bellevue’s economy forward for the next 20 years.”

The staff report from last week’s meeting indicated that the bridge design could evolve as Bellevue more fully develops its vision for the adjacent spaces.

“Due to the uncertainty related to private redevelopment, the City’s redevelopment of the Lincoln Center and Metro properties, and other factors, this preferred alternative was selected with the understanding that there are several decisions which could adjust elements of the crossing design in future phases of work,” staff noted. “For example, redevelopment on properties adjacent to the crossing could create important and worthwhile opportunities to more closely integrate the structures.”

Bellevue seems to be trying to glean some inspiration from New York City’s High Line, a linear park space that opened in stages starting in 2009 as a repurposing of an abandoned elevated rail line in the increasingly posh Chelsea neighborhood. Earlier this month, the Bellevue Downtown Association hosted a junket to visit the High Line with electeds — but not everyone came home thinking about replicating it.

“Although we appreciated seeing the High Line, what we realized is that that wasn’t the accessible kind of grand connection that we were talking about […] we really want that open, inclusive, welcoming, grand connection,” Councilmember Janice Zahn said last week.

While getting to the finish line on the Crossing will likely only be possible with the help of outside funding sources and may prove to be a heavy lift, the City Council seems to be all-in on moving forward.

Councilmember Dave Hamilton noted the importance of creating more carbon-free options for travel as the Wilburton neighborhood continues to densify away from its current state, dominated by parking lots.

“I think it’s also about supporting housing density, in one of our newest neighborhoods, providing a climate friendly transportation option, creating more park spaces, encouraging tourism,” Hamilton said. “I want to just keep the momentum, keep the connection crossing moving forward, there’s just too many benefits to this project to not strongly keep pushing it, so full speed ahead.”

2025 will be a critical year for the Connection, as Bellevue grapples with tangible cost estimates, coming in the next few months, and starts to look at what it will take to move the project forward.

The post Bellevue Reveals Initial Designs for Pedestrian Bridge over I-405 first appeared on The Urbanist.

This week, WSDOT let The Urbanist behind the fences for a sneak peek at how things are progressing, as work crews finish creating the final path connections, adding greenery and moving earth to get things ready for public use. While much is left to be done, the essential infrastructure is in place, and the difference was clear for cyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders, who will navigate a true multimodal hub rather than a forlorn highway interchange.

The exact opening date for these new elements remains up in the air for now. Everything is tied together, and some pieces have been delayed, most notably the transit canopies that will keep riders dry at bus stops when it’s raining. Much is dependent on when WSDOT decides to open the direct access ramps for transit vehicles and HOV drivers, an action that will split today’s continuous work zone in two.

All of the pieces are interconnected, precluding a phased opening for different elements, the department said. At the tour, WSDOT spokesperson Steve Peer confirmed that it’s looking like everything will be open by Halloween, though that timeline could definitely shift in the coming weeks.

The Lid

If you’ve walked or biked on the temporary pathway along Montlake Boulevard over the past few months, you’ve seen the blocks of “geofoam” placed on top of the base structure of the lid transform into dirt and grass. Concrete pathways are now in place that will provide a buffer from nine-lane Montlake Boulevard and allow pedestrians and cyclists to connect between bus stops, the 520 Trail, and local streets.

It remains to be seen whether the grass will truly transform the new lid into a space for picnickers and sunbathers or into a new habitat for Canada geese. But it will provide a nice sound buffer from highway noise and sets a new bar for mitigating Washington’s urban highways moving forward. The Roanoke Lid set to take shape in North Capitol Hill will likely function more like an urban park, but the Montlake Lid will certainly prove a valuable piece of infrastructure that will represent a small step toward stitching the street grid back together.

Buses haven’t directly served the 520/Montlake Boulevard interchange since 2019, when the “Montlake Flyer” stop that buses used to let passengers off right along the highway closed. This fall, the direct HOV and transit ramps will open and buses will be able to start serving the transit center built into the Montlake Lid. Supply issues getting the transit shelter canopies delivered mean that they will be one of the last elements to go in before the lid opens, and they’re playing a role in setting a date for its opening.

When the direct access ramps open, buses that are headed toward UW, like the 255, 542, and 556 will be able to stop at the Montlake Lid, allowing passengers to make direct connections to northbound buses. Unfortunately, the connection to southbound buses like the 48 will remain a bit of a walk away from the lid, down at Roanoke Street. While buses like the 545 headed to Downtown Seattle should be able to briefly exit the highway and stop in Montlake, the signal configuration (controlled by the Seattle Department of Transportation) isn’t being set up to allow that, WSDOT officials told The Urbanist.

Long term, the number of buses that would utilize that movement will decrease after the full 2 Line starts light rail service across I-90, but it’s an obvious benefit for transit riders that’s been left on the table.

The Bike and Pedestrian Bridge

More than the Montlake Lid, the most significant piece of infrastructure set to open this fall is the new pedestrian and bike bridge just east of the lid. People who normally use Montlake Boulevard to access the 520 Trail or to cross the Montlake Bridge will have a much more appealing option here, with a 70-foot-wide bridge essentially functioning as a mini lid itself.

The most common connection for anyone using the bridge will be Lake Washington Boulevard toward the Washington Arboretum, with a very wide pathway being built to bring users down to street level in that direction. Unfortunately, until the Seattle Parks project set to transform the north portion of the arboretum is completed, there won’t be a fully separated pathway that connects users all the way into the arboretum — for now, anyone biking will either use Lake Washington Boulevard itself, or use the sidewalk to connect to the Montlake neighborhood greenway via E Roanoke Street.

The Bike and Pedestrian Tunnel

The new bridge over 520 won’t be the only way to avoid using Montlake Boulevard when all of this infrastructure opens. A new tunnel under the street allows anyone connecting from the 520 Trail to head directly to the Bill Dawson trail, which provides a connection to Montlake Playfield Park and the Seattle street grid, including a bike lane on Delmar Drive E. This tunnel, which will resemble the planned tunnel that was recently restored to the Roanoke Lid project after community advocacy, features separated walking and biking space to reduce conflicts.

Bill Dawson Trail users who are used to connecting to Montlake Boulevard from the west (near the NOAA Fisheries building) may be disappointed to find that they can no longer make that connection, but will instead have to go through the tunnel and circle back. But The Urbanist confirmed on the tour that this connection will ultimately be restored when 520 work is fully completed and the Portage Bay bridges are replaced, providing a full 520 Trail connection all the way between Medina and North Capitol Hill.

While many Montlake residents are likely just eager for construction to be done and for things around 520 to return to normal, the new infrastructure being added here is going to improve trips for thousands of people who pass through the area on a regular basis.

The post First Look at Montlake’s Highway Lid and Pedestrian Bridge, Opening This Fall first appeared on The Urbanist.

The tunnel underneath busy 10th Avenue E has been included in plans codified in 2019 and dating back even earlier, to a comprehensive study of bike and pedestrian connectivity in the area from 2014. Its inclusion would better integrate the highway lid with the North Capitol Hill street grid and a recently improved “Melrose Promenade” route to Summit Slope — or to South Lake Union via Lakeview Boulevard. The tunnel would offer those coming from the Harvard Avenue corridor safe and convenient access to an extended SR 520 Trail.

Earlier this year, in response to anticipated budget shortfalls within WSDOT’s budget toward the end of the decade, the state legislature asked WSDOT to look at potential scope changes that could reduce costs. But the total expected savings that come from not building the tunnel are only expected to be between $10 million and $15 million dollars, or 0.7% to 1.09% of the total project’s costs, according to WSDOT spokesperson Steve Peer.

Without the tunnel, people connecting to and from the lid — and a planned extension of the SR 520 multi-use trail across Lake Washington — with points west of 10th Avenue E will need to use surface streets, or may instead opt to cross I-5 at Roanoke Street and head through the Eastlake neighborhood. WSDOT, in its justification for deleting the connection, seems to be relying heavily on assuming that many people will do the latter, despite the generational opportunity that the lid represents to repair long-severed street grid connections and create new ones.

Although WSDOT only announced that deleting the 10th Avenue tunnel was on the table at the beginning of this month, Peer told The Urbanist that the decision has already been made to remove it. That decision pulls apart close to a decade of work to ensure maximum mobility benefits that come out of the project.

“We needed to move fast on making this decision because it significantly affects the design of the Roanoke Lid, and lid design is one of the earliest activities for the contractor,” Peer said. “We have notified our contractor of this change since it affects multiple other design elements of the Roanoke Lid.”

Prior to announcing the decision, Peer said WSDOT had already “touched base” with legislators in the 43rd district, local government partners including the Seattle Design Commission, and bike and pedestrian advocacy groups, including Washington Bikes, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Disability Rights Washington. He pledged work with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) on compensatory improvements.

“Feedback among agency partners was largely neutral or supportive,” Peer said. “Bicycle and pedestrian advocates acknowledged this was a loss but recognized the budget constraints. They encouraged us to coordinate with the city of Seattle to ensure they constructed planned greenway improvements in the area. Cyclists also expressed a preference for using Eastlake and 10^th Ave East and support aligning WSDOT and SDOT investments along the Eastlake corridor. We are meeting with SDOT to align plans and resources for their bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the area.”

Other multimodal advocacy organizations disagree with WSDOT’s characterization of the impacts of this decision.

“It’s appalling that the cheapest and most sustainable parts of this project are on the chopping block first,” Nick Sattele with Central Seattle Greenways told The Urbanist. “The Roanoke Lid has the opportunity to heal a scar that today hinders walking, rolling, and biking around north Capitol Hill, and eliminating the Harvard underpass without providing a suitable replacement would betray promises to the community as well as climate goals.”

Asked if WSDOT had any other changes planned for the Roanoke Lid Project to reduce costs, Peer said yes, but that none were fully baked yet. “We’re considering a number of cost reduction opportunities – such as using different building materials – while maintaining function. These adjustments all require additional design and analysis to confirm feasibility,” he said.

To date, there have been no signs that WSDOT is examining scaling back any of the proposed space for vehicles in the proximity of the twin Portage Bay bridges, set to be replaced as part of this project, or the Roanoke Lid.

In an email Wednesday, 520 Program Administrator Omar Jepperson reiterated the reasons that WSDOT was moving forward with its decision to delete the tunnel, emphasizing the $700 million budget gap on the project, compared to estimates that WSDOT had created prior to soliciting bids from contractors, but did not directly disclose the 10 to 15 million dollars expected costs savings from this specific connection.

Jepperson also laid out the alternative routes that people biking or walking would likely choose now that the tunnel won’t exist. “When we considered removing the Harvard Connection, we analyzed comparable distance, time, elevation, and levels of traffic stress for alternative bike routes from Roanoke Park to both South Lake Union and downtown Seattle,” Jepperson said.

But the relatively minor costs associated with the tunnel suggest that its deletion is worth reconsideration. Late last year, the 520 program team within WSDOT responded to community concerns around the aesthetic features of three highway sign bridges near the under-construction highway lid in Montlake. After a few months of discussions, a proposal to scale back the sign bridges — work that includes a full replacement of one bridge that had already been installed — was advanced by WSDOT, with an expected total cost to the state of $750,000.

In the case of the 10th Avenue E tunnel, there has been even less public process than even that quick turnaround in Montlake, and the concerns here are far more than aesthetic.

The post Cutting Trail Tunnel Only Saves 1% of SR 520 Budget first appeared on The Urbanist.

Replacing just the north bridge also means that an extension of 520’s multi-use trail between Montlake and Capitol Hill, planned as part of the new south bridge, would be delayed by years unless the project was dramatically redesigned. The south bridge, built on hollow columns like a myriad of other elevated highways around the region from the same era, would continue to be vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake, too.

Bids to build the overall Portage Bay project, lid included, came in last fall at over $1.3 billion, around 70% more than the original cost estimates produced by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). That prompted the department to head back to the legislature to try and get additional funding by the end of this year’s legislative session, which ends on March 7.

Rep. Fey, in a press conference this week, described the House’s approach to the transportation budget as “lifting all boats, in terms of the money that we have, as opposed to some of the boats.”

“It’s a big number, right, and it’ll throw everything out of balance if we fund the Portage Bay,” Fey said. “We do fund some of the cost increases to finish up the existing work, but it seemed to us that we could move forward with the north bridge without jeopardizing other projects.”

But splitting the project into different phases could end up costing the state more overall — unless elements like the highway lid and multi-use trail are eventually considered superfluous and jettisoned from the project altogether. In December, WSDOT told the transportation committees of both chambers that phasing the entire project could add at least seven years to the project’s full timeline, already set to be completed in the early 2030s, and add an additional $1 billion to $1.5 billion in overall costs.

The proposed House transportation budget represents a dramatically different vision on how to move forward than the counterpart budget in the Senate, which was also released this week. The Senate’s budget proposes moving forward with the current bid, allocating an additional $770 million for the entire 520 project and $52 million more during the current biennium.

“We believe that, you know, while it’s not ideal to have cost increases on the Portage Bay contract, that we will never get a cheaper price than with the one we have right now to do that work,” Senate transportation committee chair Marko Liias (D-21, Edmonds) said Tuesday. “And if we go the way of the House, it probably will cost us more than double in the long-term by delaying some of those key elements of the project until later.”

On the Senate side, there are additional ideas being put forward that could potentially generate additional transportation revenue on the SR 520 corridor in the long-term. The proposed transportation budget includes direction to WSDOT to coordinate with the Washington Transportation Commission, which oversees state tolling rates, to study potential segment tolling on 520. Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-43, Seattle), who represents the district that includes 520 in Seattle, has introduced a bill that would remove the restriction that the floating bridge portion of the highway is the only one tolled. The report on segment tolling would be due by next July.

In the next two weeks, the House and Senate will have to reconcile their budgets, with this fairly significant disagreement one of the biggest hurdles to reconcile. If the House’s position on Portage Bay prevails, it could set a precedent that walking and biking facilities and highway lids are not essential elements of state highway projects, or end up subjecting the area around North Capitol Hill to a construction period that’s twice as long and that ends up ultimately eating up even more valuable funding for transportation projects.

You can contact Rep. Fey’s office directly via this link.

The post State House Proposes Postponing Seattle’s 520 Lid and Trail Extension Indefinitely first appeared on The Urbanist.