Southeast Eastgate Way in Bellevue will close for six months starting Monday, April 21, roughly halfway between Richards Road and 139th Avenue Southeast for construction of a fish-passable bridge structure across Sunset Creek. Local access will be permitted to the east and west of the closure but through-traffic cannot pass through the work zone.
A signed detour will be available to guide vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians around the closure for the duration of the closure.
Project overview
WSDOT is building bridges over Sunset Creek in Bellevue along both directions of I-90, Southeast Eastgate Way and Southeast 36th Street in Bellevue. These bridges will replace culverts that block fish passage on Sunset Creek, allowing natural stream conditions to return in this section of the waterway and opening new upstream habitat to native and migrating fish.
What to expect
Bridge construction on Interstate 90:
Construction started in mid-2023 and is scheduled to continue in stages until early 2027. Here's what you can expect during construction:
- I-90 bridge construction is scheduled to finish in early 2026.
- Lane shifts on eastbound and westbound I-90 between I-405 and 142nd Place Southeast for construction of new freeway bridges over Sunset Creek will continue into early 2026.
- Long-term HOV lane closures on both directions of I-90 between 142nd Place Southeast and I-405 will continue into early 2026.
- Streambed and habitat restoration in Sunset Creek beneath I-90 will begin in early 2026 and continue into early 2027.
Bridge construction on Southeast Eastgate Way:
A six-month closure of all lanes of Southeast Eastgate Way starts April 21, 2025, between Seattle Humane and Polaris at Eastgate for construction of a new bridge over Sunset Creek. Here's what you can expect during construction:
- A detour for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians using Richards Road, Southeast 26th Street and 139th Avenue Southeast.
- King County Metro bus stops on this section of Southeast Eastgate Way will relocate during bridge construction. The detour is shown in the Maps and Drawings section of this website.
- Local access will be permitted to the east and west of the closure on Southeast Eastgate Way.
- Driveways along this section of Southeast Eastgate Way will not be blocked during construction.
- Traffic likely will increase along the detour route during peak travel times.
- Construction will primarily occur during the day between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Bridge construction on Southeast 36th Street:
Bridge construction on Southeast 36th Street over Sunset Creek finished in late February 2025. All travel lanes are now open across the new bridge.
This project is combined into a single contract with two other fish passage projects on SR 161 and SR 202 and 203. Construction is scheduled to occur in stages from 2023–2027. The work on I-90 began in the spring of 2023 and remains active.
By building four new fish passages under I-90, Southeast Eastgate Way and Southeast 36th Street, we can restore natural stream conditions in Sunset Creek and open spawning habitat to help several fish species recover.
