Route Planning: 520 Bridge Weekend Closure Starts Tonight

The State Route 520 Bridge is closed all weekend starting Friday night, so here are some tools to help you navigate around it.

According to the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), crews plan to close all ramps in the work zone and lanes on SR 520 from 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 29, between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and I-405 in Bellevue.

Crews plan to install a fish-passage culvert under the highway near Yarrow Point and shifting traffic lanes near Evergreen Point Road to create a median work zone, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Traffic tools

WSDOT offers these online tools to help motorists get around this weekend.

• For construction updates: www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/2011/today
• Check real-time traffic flow before you leave: www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle
• Follow WSDOT on Twitter: @wsdot_traffic
• Track all construction closures on SR 520.
• For construction information call the project hotline at 425-998-5200.
• In Bellevue, the 108th Avenue Northeast on-ramp to eastbound SR 520 will remain open.
• SR 520 from Interstate 5 to Montlake Boulevard will remain open to traffic.

Bus riders

For bus riders, Sound Transit will reroute Bus 545 and Metro Transit will reroute Routes 255, 271, 280 and add the Medina shuttle for the weekend, which serves stops between Yarrow Point and the Bellevue Transit Center in downtown. Click here to see the reroutes on Metro Transit buses, and to download information on the Medina shuttle.

What's going on?

Washington State Department of Transportation crews plan a full weekend of work, including building a fish-passage culvert under the highway near Hunts Point and conducting annual maintenance, inspection and repairs on the floating bridge and drawspan, the Washington Department of Transportation reported.

The construction is part of a three-year project to widen the highway for better safety and travel reliability, according to WSDOT.

The construction is the reason behind the upcoming tolls for the State Route 520 bridge. The tolls, which will be collected electronically, were slated to begin in April, but the start date has been pushed back to December, .