Overnight closure Saturday on SR 520 in Redmond for East Link work

Starting at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 30, construction crews building light rail between Seattle and Redmond will lift a steel-truss pedestrian bridge segment into place over eastbound SR 520 between 148th Avenue NE and NE 40th Street. This work will require the closure of all eastbound lanes of the freeway. A detour will be in place on local streets, and all lanes will be open by 8 a.m. Sunday, May 31. 

Sound Transit contractor crews placed the first steel truss section of the pedestrian bridge over westbound SR 520 earlier this month. The structure will connect the future Overlake Village Station to the neighborhoods and businesses west of SR 520. Time-lapse video of the construction of the first segment can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/420042069.

The bridge, funded and owned by the City of Redmond, will provide a direct connection to the SR 520 trail and a pedestrian and bicycle path between the Bridle Trails and Overlake neighborhoods, separated by the freeway. 

"This bridge for people walking, biking and rolling represents the promise of true connectivity brought by light rail," Sound Transit System Expansion Committee Chair Claudia Balducci said. "It will serve as the critical last connection for people taking transit from home to excellent jobs without requiring the expense of a car. The long-term commitment of partners like Microsoft and the City of Redmond with Sound Transit will serve as a model for how we build these essential connections available throughout our system."

When complete, the pedestrian bridge will span approximately 240 feet over SR 520, and with approaches and ramps, will total nearly 500 feet in length. It will feature an art installation by local artist Leo Berk. Regularly spaced aluminum louvers will make the walls appear solid when looking straight down the length of the bridge from either end, but as pedestrians or cyclists travel over the bridge, the images will seem to break apart as they pass the gaps between the louvers.

The Overlake Village Station is adjacent to SR 520 north of the Overlake Village Park-and-Ride on 152nd Avenue Northeast. When East Link opens in 2023, riders will be able to travel to the Bellevue downtown station in nine minutes; to Pioneer Square Station in downtown Seattle in 30 minutes; and to SeaTac Airport in 62 minutes. 

East Link construction has reached more than 75-percent completion. With most of the major infrastructure complete, work is now focused on completing track installation on the Homer M. Hadley floating bridge, finishing stations, landscaping, and restoring roadways and other public areas impacted by construction. When civil construction is complete, installation of power and control systems will begin in 2021. For more information on the East Link Extension see: www.soundtransit.org/eastlink.