State Route 520 Closures Planned for Thursday Night

Several night-time closures on State Route 520 are planned for the evening of Thursday, Dec. 20, between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and I-405 in Bellevue.

Thirty-minute drawspan openings to accomodate vessel traffic are scheduled for 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Additionally, an overnight closure to replace washed-away lane striping and reflectors is planned from 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.

Here is the email alert sent out by the Washington State Department of Transportation on Wednesday afternoon: 

Driver alert: SR 520 closures Thursday night, Dec. 20

SR 520 drivers should prepare detour routes tomorrow night, Thursday, Dec. 20. Three evening drawspan openings are scheduled and SR 520 bridge and highway will be closed overnight between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and I-405 in Bellevue.

SR 520 drawspan openings

There are three scheduled openings of the SR 520 drawspan Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Drawspan openings typically last up to 30 minutes, and are scheduled with advanced notice for vessels that can’t fit under the 45-foot-high west high rise. The eastern high rise is closed with staging equipment being used to construct the new SR 520 floating bridge, which will not have a drawspan when complete.

Drivers can sign up for automated alerts and find additional information on the SR 520 drawspan Web page.

Dec. 20-21 overnight closure

Recent winter weather has washed away temporary lane striping and reflective buttons placed during SR 520 construction on the Eastside. With less rain projected for Thursday night, crews hope to refresh all paint lines and replace reflective buttons and barrier reflectors.

Overnight closure details:

• Crews will close both directions of SR 520 and ramps between Montlake Boulevard in Seattle and I-405 in Bellevue from 11 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, to 5 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21.        
• The 108th Avenue Northeast on-ramp to eastbound SR 520 will remain open to traffic.        
• Two sections of SR 520 will remain open to traffic: I-5 to Montlake Boulevard and areas east of I-405. Drivers will need to take I-90 or find alternate routes around Lake Washington.        
• Closure information and detour maps are online.