Feb 27 2010
SR 520: We’re Almost there!
Updates:
Seattle City Council: SR 520 Special Committee meeting on Thursday, 4/08/2010 at 5:30 PM. Council will review consultant’s recommendations and the second half of the meeting will be devoted to public comments.
Senate Bill (SB 6392 – 2009-10: Clarifying the use of revenue generated from tolling the state route number 520 corridor.) Senate (3/09/2010, President signed) House (3/10/2010, Speaker signed)
House Bill (HB 2929 – 2009-10: Clarifying the use of revenue generated from tolling the state route number 520 corridor.) 2010 1ST SPECIAL SESSION: Mar 15 By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
The Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, formerly the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, and what we all know as the 520 bridge is scheduled to be replaced with a new floating bridge by 2014. Approximately 115,000 vehicles carrying 155,000 people use the bridge everyday (note: the bridge was only designed for 65,000 vehicles). Everyone agrees that the second longest floating bridge in Washington needs to be replaced as soon as possible and the replacement should be six-lanes (3 lanes east and 3 lanes west). While discussion to replace the 47 year old bridge began in 1997 and engineers have identified 2017 as the last year of its useful life despite annual repairs, recent debate over final designs and engineering of how to use the third lane and the impact of traffic flow through the neighborhoods at the Montlake interchange has prompted a 120 day timeline for the State and the City of Seattle to reach an agreement and not jeopardize the 2014 completion date and the $4.65 billion dollar budget allocated for the SR 520 project.
To be candid, this is what is laid out on the table, for all parties to reach an agreement. Representatives on the west side favor using the third lane for high-capacity transit (bus-rapid transit in 2014 and light rail installed for future use). The current proposal (option A+) supports using the third lane for HOV (high occupancy vehicles). Governor Gregoire and the office of the Attorney General state that revisiting the configuration of the third lane would set the project back 18-24 months.
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