SR 520 Corridor Program E-mail Update

November 6, 2008

In this issue:

-- Eastside geotechnical land drilling begins
-- Join the Tolling Implementation Committee at upcoming public events

Eastside geotechnical land drilling begins

On Monday, Nov. 3, crews working for WSDOT began land drillings on the Eastside to complete design work as the project team gets closer to a mid-2010 construction start. This work launches the second stage of a geotechnical drilling program to test soil conditions for the design of the new SR 520 corridor and is expected to continue through March 2009. These drillings collect soil samples to help WSDOT advance the design of structures for the SR 520 roadway, including bridges, retaining walls, overpasses and drainage systems.

To help keep traffic moving during the day, crews will do considerable work at night between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday evenings. Nighttime drilling with a truck-mounted drill rig is currently under way along ramps near the interchange at SR 520 and 108th Avenue NE. In future weeks, there will be intermittent lane closures on the SR 520 roadway and the Points Loop Trail as the work proceeds westward from the 108th Avenue NE interchange to Lake Washington.  Updated information about the drilling schedule and lane closures will be posted on the SR 520 Project Geotechnical drilling Web page as it becomes available.

The first stage of these drillings was conducted from barges along the eastern and western shores of Lake Washington. Photos of these drilling rigs and barges are available on our Web site.

Join the Tolling Implementation Committee at upcoming public events

You're invited to keep learning about possible tolling options across Lake Washington (including both SR 520 and I-90) and share your views. Public input received this summer led to additional tolling options.

The Tolling Implementation Committee – which includes leaders of the Puget Sound Regional Council, the Washington State Transportation Commission and WSDOT – will share these updated tolling options at a public meeting and open houses beginning Monday, Nov. 10. Public input will be included in a report to the Washington State Legislature in January 2009.

Tolling Implementation Committee meeting

Monday Nov. 10, from 3-5 p.m. at Redmond City Hall, 15670 NE 85th Street

Public open houses:

Seattle

Thursday, Nov. 13 at University of Washington – Gould Hall, 3949 15th Avenue NE.

All open houses are from 3-7 p.m. with a presentation at 5 p.m.

For additional information about how tolling can help build a new SR 520, visit the Tolling Implementation Committee Web site at www.build520.org

Please forward this e-mail to others who might be interested. Subscribe to other e-mail updates from WSDOT or send us your questions and comments