Traffic, Traffic Everywhere!

One of our favorite topics, traffic!


With the good, there is the bad. The previous posting talks about the "Gold of Seattle Real Estate". The good: our great job market and great real estate appreciation. Our bad: the traffic!




Everywhere you go on the Eastside right now roads are being torn up. It’s all for a good cause and will improve our commuting over the long run.


Quite a bit is being done to mitigate our woeful traffic issues.


Here is some of what is going to be new, exciting, and different. Some of this is ongoing and some is planned for the future.



For all you plateau home owners relief is in sight!


Highway 520 from 202, Redmond-Fall City Road, flyover is being built by Fred Meyer to take traffic from 202 over to 520. Traffic will no longer have to stop at the lights and wait to get onto 520.


Highway 202 will be widened from East Lake Sammamish Parkway to Sahalee Way with a new lane in each direction.


Both changes should help cut commute time by 15-20 minutes from the plateau.





For the downtown Bellevue crunch:


Trying to get from 405 North in Bellevue to 520?


The off ramp from 405 to 520 is going to be widened to make the transition faster and smoother.


There will be new overpass on NE 10th over 405. Group Health will have a new facility on one side of the street and Overlake Hospital will be on the other side.


Beginning now: New lanes will be added to 405 between SE 8th and 112th Ave.

SEhttp://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=glance17e&date=20070517.


Ground breaking ceremonies happened last week and the 405 expansion north will be open in 2008.




Light Rail:
For all you Microsofties, the train should be by to pick you up around 2026.