520 ‘ramps to nowhere’ finally coming down

Seattle’s infamous SR 520 “ramps to nowhere” inside the Washington Park Arboretum are finally coming down after decades sitting idle.

Crews from the Washington State Department of Transportation will begin dismantling the unused highway sections as part of construction on the new West Approach Bridge North.

The bridge will extend SR 520’s three westbound lanes from the new floating bridge to Montlake when it opens in 2017.

Still unresolved is how to pay for the final segment of the new 520 project, from Montlake to I-5. The unfunded amount is estimated at $1.4 billion.

“I have a bet that we can get the funding, not before I leave the Legislature but before I die,” joked state House Transportation Committee chair Judy Clibborn, D-41st District, during a ground breaking ceremony for the West Approach Bridge North.

Gov. Jay Inslee urged lawmakers to bear down in the upcoming session.

“And make sure that we get financing to finish this corridor to the I-5 freeway,” he said.

The ramps, popular diving spots for swimmers, were part of the original plan for an expressway that would have cut through the Arboretum, running between the Rainier Valley and the Meadowbrook neighborhood in northeast Seattle, according to HistoryLink.org.

The Seattle City Council scrapped the expressway in 1971, leaving the ramps unconnected to any roadway, where they’ve stood ever since.

Demolition will begin over the weekend during a planned construction closure of the 520 bridge between 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20.