King County Metro is ready to help get you where you need to be while the Montlake Bridge is closed for most of August.
Metro will join the 40,000 to 66,000 vehicles a day taking alternate routes while the Montlake Bridge is closed to vehicle traffic for construction.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plans to close the bridge starting Monday, Aug. 9, with work expected to take 26 days. The bridge is expected to reopen on Sept. 3.
State crews will be replacing the grid deck on the 96-year old bridge, along with working on the span’s expansion joints. Bikes and pedestrians still will be able to cross the bridge, but it will be closed to all vehicle traffic during the repairs.
The closure will impact both Metro and Sound Transit routes that cross the Montlake Bridge:
Local buses: Routes 43 and 48, which travel north through the Montlake neighborhood before crossing the bridge, will be diverted.
- Route 48 will take the alternate route it uses during the opening of the Montlake Bridge for the start of boating season, traveling along East Boyer and Furman onto Eastlake and then onto Campus Parkway.
- Route 43 will turn onto Broadway from East Pine Street and travel along Broadway onto Eastlake and then onto Campus Parkway.
Regional buses: The Metro and Sound Transit routes that typically exit State Route 520 and cross the Montlake Bridge instead will continue across Portage Bay and exit onto East Roanoke Street, taking surface streets into the University District.
From the east side, for alternate service to downtown Seattle, riders can transfer to Metro routes 257 and 311, or Sound Transit Route ST 545, at Evergreen Point Freeway Station.
We want to help you navigate the closure of the Montlake Bridge, but everyone should be prepared to pack their patience and prepare for additional waiting and travel time as buses navigate reroutes.
You can get transit updates by going to our Service Advisories page. You also can receive email or text message Transit Alerts from Metro. It’s easy to sign up online.
You also can check on your route by using one of our real-time tools:
- Next Departures is available on the Puget Sound Trip Planner webpage and Puget Sound Trip Planner App.
- Text for Departures is available by texting your bus stop ID number to 62550, and the next bus trips will be displayed with an “s” for scheduled or “canceled.” Learn more on our webpage.
During the Montlake Bridge closure, Metro will work to continue being the convenient way to get you where you need to go!!
Love it! Got a text from Metro on 8-13 about the Montlake Bridge closure that started on 8-9. Thank you Metro “again” for being on top of things!
I’d like to thank (NOT) whoever it is at Metro who informs the drivers of re-routes. I was on the first 44 coach eastbound from Ballard (that turns into the 43) this morning and the driver had zero clue that the Montlake Bridge was closed. The driver stopped several times along the route before reaching the U District and tried to get directions from a dispatch person. It took 20 extra minutes just to get to the light rail station. If the bus would have just gone over the University Bridge on re-route that would have been great for me. It’s not only that whoever supervises telling the drivers about re-routes that’s the only problem either. For multiple days before the bridge was closed today there’s a sign at every stop from Montlake, across 520, 24th Ave E, 23rd Ave E and E John St saying the stops are closed. Shouldn’t the driver see these notices and get a clue to check with base operations that something might be up on this route?
Why is signage around the bridge different? Signs say bridge is closed 11:59pm to 5:00am. Makes it sound like the bridge will be open during the day…
Hi there are a lot of junk articles on bloggers 🙁 that’s the main reason people don’t trust the information mostly; but I must say it is full of informational blogs. Thumbs up!
Cash For Cars Gold Coast
What about the 62?
The 62 does not use the Montlake Bridge, so there should be no service disruption or detour of the route during the closure of the bridge