This project will replace the existing southbound bridge across the Sammamish River and include the construction of new sidewalk and bike facilities on the west side of the road between Northeast 170th Street and Northeast 175th Street. The West Sammamish Bridge Project will also include new signals at Northeast 170th Street and Northeast 175th Street, new streetlighting, utility undergrounding and new landscaping.

The West Sammamish River Bridge was constructed in the 1930s and is nearing the end of its engineered life. To ensure the safety of our community, the City of Kenmore implemented weight restrictions on the bridge in 2014 until its replacement. The City is taking advantage of the replacement to add a bike path, American’s with Disabilities Act compliant sidewalk and new enhancements such as improved streetlighting and signals.

Safety is critical to the success of this project—and that doesn’t exclude safety for wildlife. Salmon migrate for months at a time in the Sammamish River, which means that work can't be done below the water during that time. The City of Kenmore worked with biologists and the permitting agencies to determine the times allowable to work in the water, otherwise known as the fish window. These narrow windows of in-water work limit the speed at which the construction contractor can complete the project. The City anticipates needing three fish windows to finish all the necessary work needed in the water.

The following three fish windows are when work will be done in the water:

• July 1 to August 31, 2020.
• July 1 to August 31, 2021.
• July 15 to August 31, 2022.

The City of Kenmore was able to find several funding sources:

• Federal Highway Administrations Highway Bridge Programs funded $12 million. (Federal funds)
• Transportation Improvement Board funded $7.0 million. (State transportation funds)
• Surface Transportation Program funded $1.6 million. (Federal funds)
• Connection Washington State Fund contributed $12 million. (State funds)
• Additional funding from the City of Kenmore, Northshore Utility District and other utilities within the project limits.

Building a new bridge requires a large number of permits, including several from other government entities. In late 2018, the City was waiting for final permit approval from several federal agencies, when they were impacted by the government shutdown. Once they had a chance to review the permits, the City missed the opportunity to work in the 2019 fish window and so pushed out construction for one year.

Emergency vehicles will have priority access during construction. The City of Kenmore will be coordinating with local police and fire for emergency planning, as well.

The City of Kenmore will coordinate with local schools to determine safe drop-off and pick-up areas for buses, cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. The City will provide advanced notice when these changes will take place. Sign up for construction alerts to learn about any changes that might affect travel times.

Routes will not change, but bus stop locations will be moved to avoid conflicts with construction. Temporary stops will be located relatively close to their existing locations. After construction, permanent bus stop locations will be changing. Please contact the project to learn more about these future locations.

For more information on live bus routes, visit King County Metro Trip Planner.

Yes. However, during certain periods of construction, your access to the boat launch will change. Sign up for email construction updates to learn more about these changes before they occur.

Here are the primary impacts you can expect:

• Throughout the year, the driveway will be periodically impacted which will slightly delay access to the boat launch site. These impacts will be sporadic and will mostly likely only be a delay of less than a few minutes.
• Boat traffic underneath the bridge will temporarily be closed for 15-minute periods in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard during in-water work. During popular community events, such as Seafair, the City will continue to work with the U.S. Coast Guard to determine how to best acommodate access.
• Nighttime access under the bridge may be restricted for up to 10 hours during the summer months (fish windows; see "Why will it take three years to build the new bridge?" FAQ).
• During the months of July and August of 2020 2021, and 2022, the parking stalls on the east side of the lot will be closed and used for construction. Truck and trailers will need to park in the available right of way on 68th and 175th.
• The access road underneath the bridge will be closed from March 2020 through fall 2022. Access to the boat launch will have to come from the north. To exit the boat launch, vehicles will need to head south. Access northbound and exit northbound will not be provided.

When both southbound lanes on the existing bridge must be closed for construction, traffic will be rerouted to the northbound bridge with one lane operating in each direction. This situation will likely only occur during night hours between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. However, there may be times during non-peak hours where this situation is unavoidable. Traffic control devices and other safety signage will be deployed during these traffic changes.

Yes! The City of Kenmore has been in communication with Bothell, Kirkland, and other nearby cities. Check out the interactive map on the website for more information about projects in Bothell and Kirland, as well as additional projects in Kenmore.

Great question! Please visit KenmoreConstruction.com and sign up for email updates. You can also call the project hotline at (425) 201-4147 or email info@kenmoreconstruction.com.

The water level in Lake Washington is controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and can vary by more than 2 feet, which impacts navigational clearance under the West Sammamish River Bridge and perceived bridge height. Once complete, the height of the new west bridge will match the east bridge, and will allow for similar clearance under the bridge. The width of the west bridge will be 40 feet once complete, compared to the current combined width of the two bridges of 30 feet. The columns for the new west bridge will also be aligned with the east bridge. More information on water level targets can be found on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.

At several points during construction, work will need to continue over weekends to take advantage of low traffic volumes and to keep the project on schedule. Typical weekend work hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but mobilization and light work may begin earlier and extend later.  

The speed limit has been reduced to 25 MPH throughout the work zone for the safety of both the public and the construction team. This speed limit applies 24/7. If you see speeding through the work zone, please contact the City of Kenmore Police Department’s non-emergency phone line at 206-296-3311.  

One of the main goals of the project is improved safety for pedestrians and bicyclists for all three projects. Walking and biking paths will be rerouted away from construction activity and signs will be used to make it easy for commuters to find and use the new, temporary routes. During construction, pedestrian traffic will shift to the east bridge exclusively and bicyclists will share the roadway with vehicle traffic. If you are biking across the bridge and do not feel comfortable sharing the roadway with vehicles, please dismount your bike and walk it across the bridge on the sidewalk. 

A: The permanent removal of the designated right turn at 68th Ave NE and NE 170th St was based on several factors, including the goal of completing needed pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements, a lack of available public right of way and costs of acquiring land on either side of 68th to make the needed safety improvements and keep the turn lane. The City is mandated to make safety improvements to comply with the Complete Streets ordinance, which ensures that street designs are consistent with the City’s Target Zero Initiative.

By eliminating the pocket lane, there is now enough room to build a continuous separated bike path from NE 175thSt to NE 170th St, connecting to new bike lanes along Juanita Dr NE from NE 170^th St to NE 143^rd St. Both pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to safely travel separately from vehicular traffic along the 68th/Juanita Corridor.