Start of Montlake Triangle land bridge construction means Burke-Gilman detour

By Steve Xu

Feb 6, 2014, 12:00 AM

From mid-February to late March, the Burke-Gilman Trail will detour around the lower Rainier Vista for the construction of a land bridge to connect Rainier Vista to the Montlake Triangle. The detour is expected to begin on Feb. 17 and last through March, but the exact dates are still being finalized, according to Andy Casillas, project manager of the Montlake Triangle Project with the UW Capital Projects Office. In place of the detour is a construction site that will completely cover the lower Rainier Vista and the Montlake Triangle. Burke-Gilman Trail users will have to go up to Stevens Way Northeast, and users crossing the Montlake Bridge from the Burke-Gilman Trail will have to use either Montlake Boulevard Northeast or Northeast Pacific Street. When the construction is complete, pedestrians will not cross Northeast Pacific Place on the existing street level crossing but instead use the elevated land bridge. To do this, Casillas said, Northeast Pacific Place will be excavated approximately 18 feet to allow road traffic and particularly Metro buses to pass underneath the bridge. This land-bridge is part of the larger Montlake Triangle Project, which, when completed in June 2015, will directly connect the UW campus to the UW light rail station (located between Husky Stadium and the UW Medical Center). “[The Montlake Triangle Project] will enliven the Montlake Triangle [and] energize that area,” Casillas said. “It will improve the transit connections not only to the [light rail] transit station … but also to the hospital, the upper campus, and to the entire area more intuitive and more engaging.” On Dec. 6, 2013, Sound Transit released a project update stating the UW Station will open between January and March 2016, significantly earlier than the previously scheduled opening date of Sept. 24, 2016. Trains will leave the UW station every six minutes, and the travel time between the UW Station and Westlake Station in downtown Seattle will be six minutes. Burke-Gilman Trail users say that their only notice of the detour was the construction that had already started on the trail. “It’s annoying to have to make the detour, but ultimately we’re going to get a better trail network in the area, so I can support the detour,” said Rory Jack, a mechanic at the ASUW Bike Shop. However, there are also users who are unconcerned. “[The detour] doesn’t seem like a big deal,” junior Tyler Licata said. “Everyone needs a bit of change in their life once in a while.” Reach contributing writer Steve Xu at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @steveeeexu94

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