Date:
Monday, April 06, 2009
Contact:
Seema Javeri, WSDOT Project Engineer, (425) 401-4126 (Bellevue); Colleen Gants, WSDOT Communications, (206) 465-2311 (Bellevue)
BELLEVUE – It’s been just 231 days since WSDOT tore down the Wilburton tunnel on southbound I-405 to make room for more lanes. This morning, a new southbound lane opened from SE Eighth Street to I-90 to bring relief to weary southbound commuters through Bellevue.
The new lane is part of the $124 million I-405 South Bellevue Widening Project that is widening four miles of I-405 between 112th Avenue SE and SE Eighth Street.
“We’re making progress on the I-405 corridor – one of our most congested in Washington,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. We’ve invested nearly $1.5 billion into I-405 since 2003 and we’re seeing speeds improving in some of our worst chokepoints.”
Since January, northbound I-405 travelers are seeing an increase in travel speeds due to the opening of a new northbound lane from 112th Avenue SE to I-90. South-end commuters are benefiting from increased speeds and reduced morning commute times as they head north into Bellevue.
Now southbound commuters will see an improvement in the afternoon, said Seema Javeri, WSDOT Project Engineer. “We anticipate the additional lane will speed up traffic and increase safety in the area once restricted by the tunnel.”
Over the summer, crews will widen northbound I-405 between I-90 and SE Eighth Street. Traffic will be shifted from the northbound carpool lane to the bridge that used to carry southbound traffic over I-90. Crews also will add an additional southbound carpool lane between SE Eighth Street and I-90.
Atkinson Construction, the contractor for the South Bellevue Widening Project, estimates the project has created and supported more than 1,000 construction jobs per year around the region since it broke ground in 2007.
The project is funded by the 2003 and the 2005 gas tax packages. For more information on the project, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/i405/.
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