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I-405 tunnel work finishes a week early

Published 5:14 pm Sunday, August 17, 2008

The closure of southbound lanes on I-405 won’t be needed this weekend as construction crews completed the removal of the Wilburton Tunnel in two weekends instead of three. Southbound traffic on I-405 from Southeast Eighth Street to I-90 was closed over the weekends so crews could remove the tunnel so more lanes could be added to the freeway. More photos on page 11.
The closure of southbound lanes on I-405 won’t be needed this weekend as construction crews completed the removal of the Wilburton Tunnel in two weekends instead of three. Southbound traffic on I-405 from Southeast Eighth Street to I-90 was closed over the weekends so crews could remove the tunnel so more lanes could be added to the freeway. More photos on page 11.

Crews finished demolishing the Wilburton Tunnel over southbound I-405 in Bellevue last weekend, one week ahead of schedule. The third weekend closure is no longer needed.

“A combination of careful planning, hard work, great weather and cooperation from the public gave us the perfect environment to complete this work a week ahead of schedule,” said I-405 Deputy Director, Stacy Trussler. “I’d like to thank drivers who planned ahead for the closures and used alternate routes. They were as big a part of making this a success as the operator on the excavator crunching away the tunnel.”

In addition to the tunnel demolition work, crews used the total closure of southbound lanes to repair several sections of I-405 and complete preparation work to connect a new I-405 southbound bridge over I-90. The past weekend’s work is part of the South Bellevue Widening Project, funded by the 2003 and 2005 transportation revenue increases.

Across the state, WSDOT has delivered 152 of the 391 projects funded by the revenue increases. In addition to the South Bellevue Widening Project, 70 other projects are under construction, and 33 will start in the next six months.

Atkinson Construction is the lead contractor on the South Bellevue Widening Project. The subcontractors include: R.W. Rhine Demolition, Inc., Novito Construction, KLB Constrution, Salinas Construction, Acme Concrete, INCA, Apply-A-Line, Totem Electric, Lakeside Industries, Peterson Brothers Construction, and Jacobs Engineering.

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