Seattle-area museum building to make way for roads project

Demolition of the historic building that housed the Washington Museum of History and Industry for 60 years began recently in Montlake.

The museum moved from the Montlake site on 24th Avenue East to its new home on Lake Union in 2012. Demolition of the former home is part of the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOC Program.

Contractor crews are now working on the State Route 520 West Approach Bridge North part of the project and expect demolition to take about a month to complete. Once that building is gone, the site will be used as a new off-ramp from 24th Avenue East to East Lake Washington Boulevard. After that project is complete, the site will return to its natural state and become a basin to capture stormwater runoff from the reconstructed highway, improving the water quality of Lake Washington.

“I’m pleased that we’ve reached this important part of our highway construction effort,” Julie Meredith, program administrator for the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program, said. “We’re not only building a safer, more reliable highway, but for the first time, we’ll be capturing and cleaning roadway runoff before the water re-enters local streams and Lake Washington.”

A new floating bridge that carries the westbound lanes of SR 520 to Montlake is scheduled to open to drivers in spring 2016. All but three of the 77 pontoons that make up the backbone of the new bridge are now constructed, with the rest scheduled for completion this spring. The new West Approach Bridge North will open in 2017.