State Route 520 West

The SR 520 freeway commences at the Avondale Road Extension intersection with NE 80th Street west and Union Hill Road east in Redmond. A split diamond interchange quickly follows with NE 78th Street and SR 202 (Redmond Way).

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A look at the original two lane configuration of the SR 520 beginning over SR 202. A WSDOT project widened the freeway and added a directional ramp from SR 202 north onto SR 520 west during roadwork between 2007 and December 2010.

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Heading west along SR 520 at the first reassurance marker. Construction between 2009 and December 2010 widened this stretch of freeway to eight overall lanes (four general purpose lanes, two HOV lanes, and two auxiliary lanes).

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SR 520 straddles northern reaches of Marymoor Park to the folded diamond interchange with West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE. West Lake Sammamish Center was originally signed as SR 901 between Redmond Way and Exit 13 of Interstate 90.

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West Lake Sammamish Parkway connects the freeway with 2010-decommissioned SR 908¹ (Redmond Way) west of the Redmond city center. SR 908 continued Redmond Way west from Washington to NE 85th Street in Kirkland 202 on a 3.14 mile course.

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Road work realigned and extended the loop ramps to West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE from SR 520 in 2009-10. New bridges carry motorists to the parkway over the Sammamish River to the parkway below. The stretch of SR 520 between the parkway and SR 202 was signed as SR 920 until the early 1980s completion of the SR 520 freeway southwest to Bellevue.²

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Turning southward along SR 520, the freeway expands to six lanes with an HOV provision on the outer lanes.

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A collector distributor roadway follows to serve the diamond interchanges with NE 51st and NE 40th Streets in south Redmond.

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The c/d roadway claims the right lane for non HOV motorists. NE 51st Street travels west to NE 148th Avenue and east to West Lake Sammamish Parkway. The corporate headquarters for Nintendo of America reside nearby.

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SR 520 reassurance marker posted at the NE 51st Street off-ramp. The NE 40th Street exit is next and it serves the Microsoft Corporate Campus.

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SR 520 west (south) drops from four to three lanes beyond the NE 40th Street overpass.

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Commuters depart the c/d roadway for NE 40th Street in this scene. NE 40th Street heads east to Lake Sammamish and west to residential areas near Bellevue Golf Course.

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The c/d roadway returns to SR 520 and forms an auxiliary lane to the six-ramp parclo interchange with 148th Avenue NE in Bellevue.

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148th Avenue travels ventures south from the Highlands section of Bellevue and SR 520 to Robinswood, Bellevue College, and Interstate 90 at Eastgate. The arterial carried SR 520 south to Bellevue Redmond Road east until completion of the 1981 extension of the SR 520 freeway.

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Continuing west from the Overlake area of south Redmond into the city of Bellevue.

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Westbound motorists of SR 520 continue to the directional cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 405. Interstate 405 heads north to Bothell and Interstate 5 south of Everett and south to Renton and Tukwila.

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The HOV-2 restriction to the right lane ends as SR 520 lowers from the wye interchange with 124th Avenue NE to Interstate 405.

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Interstate 405 loops 15.5 miles northwest from SR 520 through Kirkland and Botell to end at Interstate 5 and SR 525 near Lynnwood. Everett is a ten mile drive north from there.

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A loop ramp carries motorists onto Interstate 405 south toward downtown Bellevue and 4.75 miles to Interstate 90. Interstate 405 returns to Interstate 5 in 15 miles near Sea-Tac International Airport.

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Leaving Interstate 405, SR 520 quickly encounters a parclo interchange with 108th Avenue NE near the Bellevue / Kirkland city line. Construction between 2011-14 will widen the SR 520 freeway to six overall lanes between Bellevue and Medina. This includes the addition of new transit and HOV lanes and three median transit stops with lids on the 2.5 mile stretch between a point west of Evergreen Point Road and east of 108th Avenue NE.³

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108th Avenue NE spurs northward from SR 520 to Northup Way, becoming NE 38th Street in the city of Kirkland. Connections with Northup Way lead motorists west to Lake Washington Boulevard north and Bellevue Way south. Lake Washington Boulevard was a part of SR 908 northward to Central Way / NE 85th Street until 1992.¹

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Ramps adds drivers from Bellevue Way onto SR 520 westbound. Eastbound SR 520 sees an exit here and not with 108th Avenue NE.

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SR 520 sees a half diamond interchange with 92nd Avenue NE between Yarrow Point and Clyde Hill before defaulting onto the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge.

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All wide load trucks (those exceeding 8.5') must depart SR 520 west at 92nd Avenue NE due to the narrow nature of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge.

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92nd Avenue NE spurs north into Yarrow Point and south to Clyde Hill and an end at Meydenbauer Bay. Local roads are required to reach the communities of Medina and Hunts Point. Medina gained notoriety in 2009 with its 24 hour video surveillance system that captures images of license plates of all vehicles entering the city limits and running that information through a database.⁴

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Bus stops line both sides of SR 520 east of the 76th Avenue NE overpass. The HOV-restricted right lane ends ahead of Lake Washington.

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SR 520 lowers from Medina to cross the Governor A.D. Rosellini Bridge - Evergreen Point. The four lane span is the longest floating bridge in the world, traveling 7,500 feet in length.⁵

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Originally opened as a toll bridge, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge was completed on August 28, 1963. Tolls were collected until 1979.⁵ A steel truss supports the elevated section over the east channel of Lake Washington.

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A draw span resides midway across the floating bridge to accommodate larger vessels on Lake Washington.

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Ascending the hump over the west channel of Lake Washington. The lack of shoulders creates major travel issues when a vehicle breaks down or runs out of gas. Due to the problems that occur, such stoppages result not only in a headache for the driver but also a traffic citation.

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SR 520 winds toward Evergreen Point on Union Bay in eastern Seattle. A massive project began in 2012 to replace the aging floating bridge, a project touted between $700 to $900 million. At stake is the building of a new six lane floating bridge with shoulders and a bicycle/pedestrian path. Tolls were reinstituted on December 29, 2010 along SR 520 to cover the costs.⁵

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SR 520 winds toward Evergreen Point on Union Bay in eastern Seattle. A massive project began in 2012 to replace the aging floating bridge, a project touted between $700 to $900 million. At stake is the building of a new six lane floating bridge with shoulders and a bicycle/pedestrian path. Tolls were reinstituted on December 29, 2010 along SR 520 to cover the costs.⁵

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A high-speed stack interchange joins SR 520 with Lake Washington Boulevard east of the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle. This exit, slated to be removed with the SR 520 Bridge Replacement Project, includes several unused ramps and stubs for the unconstructed R.H. Thomson Expressway. Canceled officially on June 1, 1977,⁷ the Thomson Expressway was planned to run north from Interstate 90 through the Central District to SR 520 at the Washington Park Arboretum. A section of unopened freeway mainline to the south eludes to a northward extension of the freeway beyond Union Bay to Ravenna and another unconstructed road, the Bothell Freeway.⁸

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The Montlake Boulevard off-ramp leaves SR 520 west from within the R.H. Thomson Expressway interchange. A parclo interchange ahead joins the four lane freeway with north-south Montlake Boulevard. The exit serves the University of Washington and Montlake.

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Passing under the Lake Washington Boulevard flyover ramp to the UW Botanic Gardens (Washington Arboretum). A ramp stub juts out for the uncompleted R.H. Thomson Expressway south from this overpass.

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Never-opened ramps pass over SR 520 west that would have linked R.H. Thomson Expressway north with the westbound freeway mainline and Montlake Boulevard off-ramp. A massive overhaul of SR 520 associated with the SR 520 improvement project will add a cut and cover tunnel from the removed Thomson interchange area to Montlake Boulevard. New ramps for Montlake Boulevard will carry passenger vehicles and transit onto the lid above SR 520.

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The current transit stop along SR 520 at Montlake will shift to the lid above when the cut and cover tunnel is completed. Transit vehicles currently loop to the stop under the 24th Avenue E overpass.

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Widening of SR 520 will continue west over Portage Bay with freeway expansion to six lanes planned.

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Rising over Portage Bay toward the directional interchange with Interstate 5 on SR 520. Changes are in store for the approaching confluence with Delmar Drive and 10th Avenue E. Another cut and cover tunnel will be added between the two current overpasses with a landscaped park above. A viewpoint area at Roanoke and Delmar Drive will be added as well.

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Peering northwest from SR 520 over Portage Bay. The Interstate 5 ship canal bridge between Lake Union and the bay appears.

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The ramp split to Interstate 5 will shift eastward to the Portage Bay bridge end of SR 520 when construction is completed. A reversible HOV lane will provide access to the I-5 Express lanes as well.

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SR 520 west defaults onto Interstate 5 south for downtown Seattle. The two lane ramp joins the left side of Interstate 5 south ahead of the Mercer Street off-ramps, resulting in the "Mercer Merge", a traffic weaving situation that results in regular congestion.

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The northbound ramp to Interstate 5 provides access to Roanoke Street and Harvard Avenue north to the adjacent North Broadway neighborhood from SR 520 west. Interstate 5 bisects Seattle to the north to Shoreline. SR 520 ends at this point.

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