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New SR 520 Floating Bridge

Started by Bruce, January 13, 2016, 08:18:50 PM

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Bruce

WSDOT has finally announced the details of their grand opening of the replacement for the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (which carries WA-520 across Lake Washington from Seattle towards Bellevue). The new bridge is the world's longest floating bridge (surpassing the original span by a few feet) and will open in 4 stages in April:


  • Saturday, April 2: Community fun run/walk organized by Virginia Mason
  • Sunday, April 3: Bike ride organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club
  • Monday, April 11: Westbound traffic shifts to the new bridge
  • Monday, April 25: Eastbound traffic shifts to the new bridge

Read more in WSDOT's press release, the celebration website and The Seattle Times.

Here's a picture of the old and new bridges I took from Evergreen Point (the eastern end, looking west) in November:



707

Holy Christmas, that bridge looks like it got hit with an ugly stick!

jakeroot

Quote from: 707 on January 14, 2016, 02:05:05 AM
Holy Christmas, that bridge looks like it got hit with an ugly stick!

It's not quite finished yet. There's still plenty of aesthetic work to complete.

kkt

Wow, I didn't realize it was that close to opening.

Will there be another chance to walk across the old span after it closes to cars before it gets demolished?

jakeroot

Here's the final design. Note the tall lit structures, called "sentinels", which will be "armed with lasers to fend off marauding invaders", as well as "amuse our feline overlords" (1):



Jokes aside, I think they're just tall things that can look cool at night...


kkt

Quote from: jakeroot on January 14, 2016, 02:58:53 PM
Here's the final design. Note the tall lit structures, called "sentinels", which will be "armed with lasers to fend off marauding invaders", as well as "amuse our feline overlords" (1):



Jokes aside, I think they're just tall things that can look cool at night...



That really looks like the Transamerica Pyramid, except in color.

Henry

Quote from: kkt on January 14, 2016, 03:27:24 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 14, 2016, 02:58:53 PM
Here's the final design. Note the tall lit structures, called "sentinels", which will be "armed with lasers to fend off marauding invaders", as well as "amuse our feline overlords" (1):



Jokes aside, I think they're just tall things that can look cool at night...



That really looks like the Transamerica Pyramid, except in color.

To me, that looks like it could be something from the Wizard of Oz, but then again, Seattle is called the Emerald City for a reason  :)
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triplemultiplex

Quote from: Henry on January 15, 2016, 01:04:14 PM
Quote from: kkt on January 14, 2016, 03:27:24 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 14, 2016, 02:58:53 PM
Here's the final design. Note the tall lit structures, called "sentinels", which will be "armed with lasers to fend off marauding invaders", as well as "amuse our feline overlords" (1):



Jokes aside, I think they're just tall things that can look cool at night...



That really looks like the Transamerica Pyramid, except in color.

To me, that looks like it could be something from the Wizard of Oz, but then again, Seattle is called the Emerald City for a reason  :)

This bridge is on Romulus.  It just needs a certain silhouette of a predatory bird on it somewhere.
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The Ghostbuster

Will the new inside lane be an HOT Lane?

jakeroot

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on January 19, 2016, 05:17:04 PM
Will the new inside lane be an HOT Lane?

HOV for now, but perhaps HOT in the future. The bridge itself is tolled so they're probably holding off. Lots of congestion is avoided in the first place with the bridge toll, which varies depending on the time of day.

Kacie Jane

Quote from: jakeroot on January 14, 2016, 02:58:53 PM
Here's the final design. Note the tall lit structures, called "sentinels", which will be "armed with lasers to fend off marauding invaders", as well as "amuse our feline overlords" (1):

Thank you, this made my day.

Quote from: Henry on January 15, 2016, 01:04:14 PM
To me, that looks like it could be something from the Wizard of Oz, but then again, Seattle is called the Emerald City for a reason  :)

I would be willing to bet a small amount of money down that someone mentioned that in a meeting somewhere along the line, and that is at least part of the reason they are lit green and not some other color.

Quote from: jakeroot on January 19, 2016, 06:23:17 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on January 19, 2016, 05:17:04 PM
Will the new inside lane be an HOT Lane?

HOV for now, but perhaps HOT in the future. The bridge itself is tolled so they're probably holding off. Lots of congestion is avoided in the first place with the bridge toll, which varies depending on the time of day.

Might be worth pointing out that the 520 tolls, as you said, vary depending on the time of day, that is, they vary on a set schedule.  The reason I'm repeating you and stressing it is to point out that it's different from actual dynamic pricing like on the 167 and 405 HOT lanes, where they adjust the toll based on how much traffic is actually on the road (not just how much traffic they expect based on what time it is).

jakeroot

Quote from: Kacie Jane on January 24, 2016, 12:35:16 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 19, 2016, 06:23:17 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on January 19, 2016, 05:17:04 PM
Will the new inside lane be an HOT Lane?

HOV for now, but perhaps HOT in the future. The bridge itself is tolled so they're probably holding off. Lots of congestion is avoided in the first place with the bridge toll, which varies depending on the time of day.

Might be worth pointing out that the 520 tolls, as you said, vary depending on the time of day, that is, they vary on a set schedule.  The reason I'm repeating you and stressing it is to point out that it's different from actual dynamic pricing like on the 167 and 405 HOT lanes, where they adjust the toll based on how much traffic is actually on the road (not just how much traffic they expect based on what time it is).

Thank you for the clarification (it is important). I think this difference (scheduled tolls versus random tolls) is the reason why most people no longer have any issue with the 520 toll, but are all over the 405 tolls.

jay8g


jakeroot

Quote from: jay8g on February 18, 2016, 08:09:02 PM
I got to go on a tour of the bridge today. Here's the pictures.

Great photos, Jay. Nice to see things coming together.

On a related note, I have placed a gypsy curse on WSDOT for refusing me a tour. I have to, instead, ride my bike over it in April.

kkt


Bruce

A mini-road meetup for the bridge opening (on foot) wouldn't be a half-bad things to have, would it? I'm going to the first day and walking the bridge during the free hours.

jakeroot

Quote from: Bruce on February 19, 2016, 06:38:53 PM
A mini-road meetup for the bridge opening (on foot) wouldn't be a half-bad things to have, would it? I'm going to the first day and walking the bridge during the free hours.

I'm in. Is that run/walk on Saturday?

Bruce

Quote from: jakeroot on February 19, 2016, 07:07:23 PM
Quote from: Bruce on February 19, 2016, 06:38:53 PM
A mini-road meetup for the bridge opening (on foot) wouldn't be a half-bad things to have, would it? I'm going to the first day and walking the bridge during the free hours.

I'm in. Is that run/walk on Saturday?

The run/walk is early Saturday morning, but the general festivities start at 10 am. Ribboncutting at 10:30 am.

paulthemapguy

Just checking- are there any closures on the existing bridge?  I'm taking a trip to Seattle next week and I plan on taking that bridge pretty often.
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jakeroot

Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 04, 2016, 09:45:44 AM
Just checking- are there any closures on the existing bridge?  I'm taking a trip to Seattle next week and I plan on taking that bridge pretty often.

It will be closed at the beginning of April to celebrate the opening of the new bridge, but otherwise, there are no planned closures. That said, if a strong wind storm pushes through (unlikely), the bridge can close due to waves. Other than that, the bridge should be wide open.

Bruce

It opened to walkers and runners today. Tomorrow is a big bike ride.

Re-dedicated in honor of Governor Rosellini, so there's no way to distinguish between the old and new bridges, officially.

noelbotevera

Why couldn't they have widened the bridge while they were at it? It's only 6 total lanes (old bridge had 4 total), and considering that this is a tolled bridge and traffic is that bad, they could have at least widened it.

Bruce

Quote from: noelbotevera on April 03, 2016, 04:31:54 AM
Why couldn't they have widened the bridge while they were at it? It's only 6 total lanes (old bridge had 4 total), and considering that this is a tolled bridge and traffic is that bad, they could have at least widened it.

Because the areas on either side of the bridge have strong opposition (and political clout to boot...Medina on the east side has a ton of billionaires, incl. Bill Gates) to any further widening. Plus the west side has the arboretum and Union Bay (both protected areas), and the interchange with I-5 would become a major pinch point where traffic has to squeeze through 2 lanes.

And traffic really isn't that bad on the bridge because of the tolls. Traffic counts have fallen a bit and there's no real need to increase the number of lanes.

The bridge itself can be widened (with extra pontoons) to support light rail, and that's about it.

kkt

So was this the last weekend the bridge will be closed to cars for the foreseeable future?

KEK Inc.

#24
I walked on the bridge last Saturday.  I don't think they expected the amount of people that showed up, but it was fun. 

Here's some photos:












Went canoeing last Thursday. 







I can see the bridge from my bedroom window, and the lights haven't been turned on until last Friday.  The sentinel colored lights aren't really noticeable from where I live, but the white decorative lights are much brighter than the HPS streetlamps.  I have yet to drive on it, but I probably will in the few days.

Quote from: jakeroot on March 04, 2016, 11:24:17 AM
It will be closed at the beginning of April to celebrate the opening of the new bridge, but otherwise, there are no planned closures. That said, if a strong wind storm pushes through (unlikely), the bridge can close due to waves. Other than that, the bridge should be wide open.

The new floating span is supposed to withstand hurricane-forced winds.  The road-deck is elevated, so waves will just pass through underneath.  They still have to work on the causeways connecting the floating bridge and Seattle, so sporadic road closures are likely in the next 2-3 years until the bridge is completely done.  Then there's the Portage Bay bridge replacement and the I-5/SR-520 interchange improvement project, but I don't think the state has funding for those projects.

Quote from: Bruce on April 03, 2016, 11:59:02 AM
And traffic really isn't that bad on the bridge because of the tolls. Traffic counts have fallen a bit and there's no real need to increase the number of lanes.

The bridge itself can be widened (with extra pontoons) to support light rail, and that's about it.
So before the new bridge opened, there's a pinch point at the eastern landing of the bridge going westbound.  Between 4 PM and 6 PM, metered traffic from 84th Ave NE causes a backup on SR-520's mainline often extending all the way back to I-405.  Now, the pinch point is in the middle of the bridge (since the western approaches aren't done). 
Take the road less traveled.



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