Drafter
Clerk 11/23/2009
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A MOTION expressing King County's support for a preferred design of the State Route 520 bridge replacement and high-occupancy vehicle program.
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WHEREAS, the State Route 520 bridge is a vital transportation corridor between job centers and growing communities around Lake Washington, carrying about one hundred fifty-five thousand people per day, and
WHEREAS, the State Route 520 bridge is heavily congested during morning and afternoon commute times, carrying twice as many vehicles as it was originally planned to, and
WHEREAS, the State Route 520 bridge was built in the early 1960s, without the benefit of modern design and safety standards, and the structure's age and condition make it vulnerable to seismic events or windstorms, and
WHEREAS, the state and the region have been studying the potential replacement of the State Route 520 bridge for several years and have identified State Route 520 bridge replacement and high-occupancy vehicle ("HOV") program options to replace the existing floating bridge, enhance safety and provide transit and roadway improvements throughout the corridor, with a total cost capped at four billion six hundred fifty million dollars, and
WHEREAS, the eastside transit and HOV project design components of the State Route 520 bridge replacement and HOV program have been agreed upon and are ready to move forward, and
WHEREAS, in 2009 the state Legislature created the State Route 520 Legislative Workgroup to recommend a preferred westside design option to the Legislature by December 2009, and
WHEREAS, five westside design options are currently under consideration by the legislative workgroup, and
WHEREAS, the impact on transit operations of the westside design options should be highlighted for the legislative workgroup's consideration, and
WHEREAS, King County Metro transit service will play a key role in accommodating future growth and demand in the State Route 520 corridor, and this se...
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