Montlake’s direct-access ramps are open

WSDOT opened the SR 520 direct-access ramps to Montlake on Monday, allowing buses between UW and the Eastside to jump the queue at the Montlake Blvd exit.

I dropped by to watch them work in the afternoon and, though traffic was relatively light on a Monday, buses and HOV 3+ vehicles were staying on the HOV all the way to Montlake Blvd.

The bus stops on the lid itself are currently not in use, but Metro says they'll start using them at a later date." There's still quite a bit of fencing on the lid so it may be some time before it's fully open.

Before lid construction began, the popular Montlake flyer stop allowed riders to catch an Eastside bus directly from 520 by walking down a flight of stairs. The ADA-inaccessible stop was closed in 2019 for lid construction. Now that connection is restored and improved.

Transit access in Montlake has come a long way from some of the early renders we were seeing in 2009. Prior to Monday, buses were often spending a good 10-15 minutes idling on the exit ramp. It often took longer to exit the ramp than the entire ride from Bellevue to Montlake. The reliability improvements should save service hours and improve ridership.