Population, employment and transit use are growing on the Eastside, and this growth will continue through the next 20 years. The project will respond to the needs of the rapidly growing Eastside by completing the HOV system, improving transit time and reliability, enhancing public safety, and other environmental and community benefits.
View an informational video of planned Eastside improvements:
Project area map
The Eastside Transit and HOV Project strengthens the transportation system with these features:
- Completes the eastbound SR 520 HOV lane from Lake Washington to the existing eastbound HOV lane west of the I-405 interchange. This improvement, in addition to a westbound HOV lane, will complete the currently discontinuous HOV network on the Eastside and improve travel time reliability for buses and carpools.
- Restripes HOV lanes from the outside lanes to the inside lanes from Lake Washington to SR 202. This change will enhance safety and improve travel time reliability by eliminating the existing need for merging vehicles to weave across the faster-moving HOV lanes to reach the general purpose lanes.
- Builds inside transit stops at Evergreen Point Road and at 92nd Avenue N.E. These transit stops will support the inside HOV lanes, and access will be integrated with the proposed lids over the highway.
- Constructs HOV direct access ramps at 108th Avenue N.E. This improvement will connect SR 520 with 108th Avenue NE, eliminating the need to connect to the South Kirkland Park and Ride via local streets and saving as much as 15 minutes.
- Improves interchanges at 84th Avenue NE, 92nd Avenue NE, Bellevue Way NE and 108th Avenue NE.
- Adds a bicycle and pedestrian path to provide more options for commuters.
Printable diagrams of interchange plans:
The Eastside Transit and HOV Project includes these environmental and community features:
- Builds community-connecting lids at Evergreen Point Road, at 84th Avenue NE and 92nd Avenue NE to reconnect communities divided by the original construction of SR 520 in the 1960s.
- Improves Yarrow Creek and makes culverts passable for fish.
- Provides sound walls between Lake Washington and 108th Avenue NE to reduce highway noise levels.
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