520 Update: Evergreen Point Lid Could See Use by Midweek

State Route 520 reopened this morning after a weekend closure for construction, including work on the new overpass at Evergreen Point Road, and the Washington State Department of Transportation says these new roadways could open to traffic as early as this week.

Construction over the weekend included installation of 40 concrete girders and 300 concrete deck panels on all three lidded overpasses and Bellevue Way.

Crews plan to demolish the exisiting two-lane bridge at Evergreen Point Road and move traffic onto the new 520 lid, which will be completed by December 2013. The demolishing of the existing Evergreen Point Road Bridge is planned for the next weekend closure, which is March 9 to 12.

 The state has a Flickr slideshow of the weekend's progress here.

“Putting traffic on the new lid is a big milestone that sets us up to demolish the old, narrow Evergreen Point Road overpass in just two weeks,” Brian Dobbins, WSDOT's SR 520 Eastside construction manager, said in a prepared statement.

The lids are part of the state's . Improvements include landscaped lids over portions of 520, a wider roadway, increased carpool lanes, a bicycle and pedestrian lane, and environmental upgrades. The construction between Evergreen Point Road to east of 108th Avenue NE in Bellevue will cost $306 million.

The  will incorporate a park and ride, a bus stop, and green space. The other two overpasses are at 84th Avenue Northeast and 92nd Avenue Northeast.

The recently instituted  will pay for some of the construction costs of the highway.

More information

Weekend closure details are available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/WeekendClosures.

More information about the SR 520 Eastside project is online at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/MedinaTo202.