The Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) contractor is making progress on the I-90 Two-Way Transit/HOV Operations project on Mercer Island, but weather has delayed completion of Stage 2 and final realignment of the 80th Avenue Southeast ramp to mainline eastbound I-90.

Weather delays also made it difficult to set a reliable date for a ribbon-cutting event to open the newly realigned 80th Avenue ramp. WSDOT has set a new completion date for the week of March 26.

In the meantime, the 80th Avenue S.E. ramp will continue to serve as reversible access for the I-90 express lanes without interruption until a day or two prior to an opening event to help mitigate traffic congestion in the Town Center. Only final striping and placement of a barrier on the ramp remains for complete realignment.

Extending the schedule also increases the likelihood that most of the remaining work on eastbound I-90, including much of the East Channel bridge work zone, will be complete before the 80th ramp is connected and opened to the outer roadway on eastbound I-90.

When the new ramp alignment opens to traffic with direct access to a new eastbound HOV lane, carpools and transit will also have a new “slip ramp” to enter the express lanes prior to the East Channel bridge for express access from Mercer Island to Bellevue Way and I-405.

Contact Noel Brady at WSDOT with questions, at BradyN@wsdot.wa.gov or (206) 464-1183.