Laurelhurst

KEY WSDOT 'WEST APPROACH BRIDGE NORTH' CONTACTS

Brian Dobbins and/or Kristin Sandstrom, Construction Engineering Managers
SR520bridge@wsdot.wa.gov

Lyle Bicknell, City of Seattle Principal Urban Designer lyle.bicknell@seattle.gov

Although sometimes characterized as trying to herd cats, five neighborhoods have come together to create a non-confrontational project called RESPECT SEATTLE to promote best in-city transportation choices. 

Laurelhurst, Madison Park, Montlake, North Capital Hill and the Portage Bay/Roanoke Community Councils are united to work with WSDOT and the City of Seattle in support of regional transportation in balance with Seattle's dense urban neighborhoods.  

Interested citizens can subscribe to the free RESPECT SEATTLE e-Newsletter that will publish objective information about these projects, with citizen input to make them the best they can be; mitigate construction impacts and help ensure their benefits to surface streets and SR520 traffic flow.

NEIGHBORHOODS LEARN ABOUT WSDOT SR 520

WEST APPROCH BRIDGE NORTH  CONSTRUCTION   

More than 100 neighbors from Laurelhurst, Madison Park, Montlake, North Capital Hill and Portage Bay/Roanoke heard WSDOT officials talk about construction of the 'West Approach Bridge North' (WABN) project that is expected to start in September, 2014.  WSDOT has included mitigation for quiet pavement, pedestrian and cycling.  WSDOT will meet with neighbors monthly during construction, plans a 24-hour construction hotline, and will work with neighborhoods to minimize impacts. 

Neighbors welcomed Andrew Glass Hastings from Mayor Murray's office and 43^rd District Representative Brady Walkinshaw, who attended to learn of neighborhood concerns and WSDOT/WABN construction plans. 

WABN will include a new trail in the Arboretum, a new public park at the south UW campus, and a storm water treatment facility at the former Museum of History & Industry site.  WSDOT promises ongoing community input, and says the interim design at Montlake does not preclude future decisions. 

(scroll to the end for WSDOT/WABN comments and diagrams)

WSDOT AGREES TO WORK WITH NEIGHBORHOODS

ON TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT & BENEFITS 

Several neighbors expressed reservations about the WABN project and its impact on traffic.  Planned expansion of SR520 access to Montlake Blvd., for example, may actually make traffic worse from Capital Hill and from U Village.  WSDOT officials will meet with neighbors to learn more about 'traffic congestion' as the 2.5- to 3-year WABN project moves forward.

WABN OVERVIEW DISPELS RUMORS 

BUT TRAFFIC CONCERNS REMAIN

Working through Mayor Murray's SR520 liaison, Lyle Bicknell, Neighborhood Planning Manager, Seattle Department of Planning and  Development), RESPECT SEATTLE will begin a meaningful dialogue with WSDOT about the WABN project and remaining unfunded portions of planned SR520 bridge replacement.

At the April 10 community-wide meeting, "WSDOT/WABN engineering project manager, Suryata Halim, said the WABN project  replaces s structure that is earthquake vulnerable. "WABN will move traffic onto a seismically safe structure," he said, "making traffic access in the Montlake area similar to today. The key difference for drivers is that the westbound Arboretum off-ramp will be removed, and its function replaced by a new off-ramp at 24th Avenue East."

WABN will extend the bicycle/pedestrian path from the new floating bridge to the Montlake interchange, and extend the transit/HOV lanes from the Eastside to UnionBay (Lake Washington).

WSDOT officials said WABN will include Montlake intersection improvements, improved exits and merges, wider shoulders and lanes, and connections to local and regional bicycle/pedestrian routes.  Contrary to rumor, WABN will include quiet pavement.

WSDOT's environmental analysis showed that noise walls are not required in Seattle.  However, WSDOT will be implementing features of WABN that will minimize noise.  These include the following:

• Four-foot barriers along the bridge mainline and on- and off-ramps
• Quieter concrete pavement on the mainline
• Encapsulated bridge joints

WSDOT does not anticipate noise to increase when WABN is complete compared to today's conditions.

WABN will include a new trail in the Arboretum, a new public park at the south UW campus, and a storm water treatment facility at the former Museum of History & Industry site.  WSDOT promises ongoing community input, and says the interim design at Montlake does not preclude future decisions. (View WSDOT/WABN SR 520 presentation here)

KING5 Live Report April 10: 

Montlake neighbors worried about 

next phase of SR 520 project

by HEATHER GRAF / KING 5 News  Posted on April 10, 2014 at 11:07 PM

The next phase of the State Route 520 bridge project is headed to one of Seattle's busiest and most congested neighborhoods. Construction on the West Approach Bridge North, or WABN, is expected to start in late summer.  That's not sitting well with people who live in Montlake.

The WABN is a three-lane, 1.2 mile-long structure, built to modern earthquake standards.  It will connect westbound travelers from the new floating bridge to the Montlake area.

"The traffic is already very challenging here," said Peter DeLaunay.  "So what's the benefit?  What's the expected outcome of the project?"

He's a concerned resident who organized a community meeting held Tuesday night in Montlake.  Neighbors invited representatives from the Washington State Department of Transportation to be there, to explain exactly what they should expect over the coming months and years. See the Video Here