Residents and commuters in North King County and South Snohomish County should prepare for a series of significant construction projects scheduled between 2025 and 2030.
These projects aim to improve transportation safety, enhance fish passage, and support regional transit—but they also may come with major traffic disruptions.
Lake Forest Park Police Chief Mike Harden is also aware and has passed this information to the City of Lake Forest Park’s Traffic Calming Group for their planning purposes.
The impacts that concern most of us is the ‘cut-through’ traffic in our residential neighborhoods and close to schools, especially in Lake Forest Park and Shoreline, as motorists look for work-arounds to avoid slowdowns.
Below is a breakdown of what’s coming, a map and a chart showing timelines and how it may affect your travel patterns. The entity responsible for the project is listed at the beginning of the project description:
1. Lake Forest Park Roundabout & Culvert Replacement (40th Pl NE & Ballinger Way)
Conclusion: Stay Alert, Stay Involved, Stay Safe
As these major construction projects unfold, they will reshape how we move through and experience our region for years to come. While the long-term benefits will include safer streets, improved transit, and restored ecosystems, the short-term disruptions will be real—and significant.
Residents are encouraged to:
Fire Marshall Burgess of the Shoreline Fire Department, who serves as the Emergency Responder for most of this area, is aware and will “work very closely with our operations team and our dispatching agency to inform them of potential traffic impacts construction projects may have so that they can plan accordingly.”
"In addition, “If there are any concerns that we have for a specific project and its traffic impacts, we will address those concerns with the City and contractors as soon as we are made aware of them”
Lake Forest Park Police Chief Mike Harden is also aware and has passed this information to the City of Lake Forest Park’s Traffic Calming Group for their planning purposes.
The impacts that concern most of us is the ‘cut-through’ traffic in our residential neighborhoods and close to schools, especially in Lake Forest Park and Shoreline, as motorists look for work-arounds to avoid slowdowns.
Below is a breakdown of what’s coming, a map and a chart showing timelines and how it may affect your travel patterns. The entity responsible for the project is listed at the beginning of the project description:
1. Lake Forest Park Roundabout & Culvert Replacement (40th Pl NE & Ballinger Way)
- Timeline: Q3 2025 – Q3 2026
- Scope: Construction of a new roundabout and culvert for improved safety and water flow.
- Impacts: Traffic delays on Ballinger Way NE, restricted neighborhood access.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: Congestion likely to back up onto SR-522/Bothell Way NE, affecting Lake Forest Park's main corridor.
- Timeline: Q4 2025 – Q4 2026 (possibly into Q1 2027)
- Scope: West-side roundabout at NE 145th and I-5.
- Key Detours and Closures:
- No northbound exit from I-5 at NE 145th.
- No westbound access to I-5 from NE 145th.
- No direct access to South Shoreline Light Rail Station from NE 145th.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: Drivers will divert to Lake City Way and SR-522/Bothell Way NE; increased residential cut-through traffic anticipated in Lake Forest Park.
- Scope Highlights:Conversion to single-lane vehicle travel in each direction with protected bike lanes.
- “Right-out-only” redesign at 3rd Ave NE & NE 130th with raised crosswalks.
- New roundabout at Roosevelt Way NE & 10th Ave NE.
- Goal: Enhance safety for all users—drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians—along key east-west routes.
- Timeline: Q3 2025 – Q3 2026
- Scope: Replace barrier culverts to restore fish passage.
- Impact: Long-term closure of Ballinger Way NE near 35th Ave NE.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: Major rerouting through SR-522/Bothell Way NE and neighboring residential areas.
- Timeline: Begins Q1/2 2026; pause from June–July 2026 (FIFA World Cup)
- Scope:
- Lane reductions on I-5 (2 lanes each direction).
- Directional express lane use.
- Speed limit reduction to 50 mph.
- Month-long ramp closures.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: 84,000 displaced daily drivers will strain NE 145th, Lake City Way, and SR-522/Bothell Way NE.
- Timeline: Q2 2026 – Q3 2027
- Scope: Culvert replacement under SR-522.
- Impact: Extended lane closures and detours.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: Delays and rerouting to Lake City Way; heavier residential traffic in Lake Forest Park.
- Timeline: Expected Q2 2028 – Spring 2030
- Scope: Two major culvert replacements (I-5 & SR-104 in Mountlake Terrace).
- Impact: Lane reductions and heavy construction.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: Significant traffic diversion onto SR-522/Bothell Way NE through Lake Forest Park and Kenmore.
- Timeline: Q1 2026 – Q1 2028 (schedule not finalized)
- Scope: Widening SR-522 westward to add a northbound BAT lane.
- Impact: Lane reductions, increased local street detours.
- Traffic Ripple Effects: Extended construction will severely affect mobility in the Lake Forest Park business corridor.
Conclusion: Stay Alert, Stay Involved, Stay Safe
As these major construction projects unfold, they will reshape how we move through and experience our region for years to come. While the long-term benefits will include safer streets, improved transit, and restored ecosystems, the short-term disruptions will be real—and significant.
Residents are encouraged to:
- Stay informed by checking project updates from WSDOT, Sound Transit, and local city websites.
- Report safety hazards or detour issues to your city’s public works or transportation department.
- Drive cautiously through work zones, obey detour signs, and watch for increased foot and bike traffic in residential areas.
- Voice your concerns at public meetings or by contacting city councilmembers and project leads—your feedback matters and can help shape mitigation efforts.
Will Ballinger Way also get repaved if it'll be essentially closed for a bit? Might as well get it all done. It's awful driving through there.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to the Stride and 130th/125th projects!
ReplyDeletePublishing this now and with such detail is a public service. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam, I have not seen much about it so I thought I'd bring it to light.
DeleteIt is unethical for the Shoreline Area News to run this article without noting that:
ReplyDeleteA) Paula Goode is an LFP City Councilperson who votes on transportation issues, and
B) she is a founding member of CORE, a group that actively opposes Sound Transit’s plans for Bothell Way, which currently affect Paula Goode’s property, the Sheridan Market.
This whole “Paula Goode LFP Resident” is misleading BS.
Is it the east-side or west-side roundabout at the 145th street I-5 overpass that is under construction? All the restrictions suggest east-side, not the mentioned west-side.
ReplyDeleteRight now it is West side, but they will soon move to the east.
DeleteGiven that the W side work is now stretching into 2027, what does “soon” mean?
DeleteThank you, Paula.
ReplyDeleteYou got it!
DeleteThere are so many errors in this article and so much misinformation, I would encourage you to take it down and fix it. It is really doing a disservice to the community.
ReplyDeleteThe author has a political angle that the paper isn’t acknowledging. She opposes ST bus rapid transit plan in front of het business and has threatened ST because of these construction projects arguing impacts to the public.
DeleteVery excited about the 130th/125th project!
ReplyDeleteThe article doesn’t disclose the author Paula Goode is a Lake Forest Park Council Member and created CORE which opposes bus rapid transit on Bothell Way. That would be an honest question presentation. CORE sent a threatening legal letter to Sound Transit about construction projects she notes.
ReplyDeleteThe City of Seattle certainly enjoys making the lives of commuters as frustrating as possible for no benefit. Being unable to pass slowpokes on 130th/125th is just the latest scheme they've devised.
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with supporting, or not, Stride-3. It is about public safety and the fact that for all intents and purposes, there is no formal or informal platform for multiple jurisdictions to coordinate these projects to mitigate the potential of serious traffic backups that prevent or reduce response time for police and emergency vehicles. The City of Seattle, Seattle DOT and the Seattle Downtown Association have lobbied the State for $40 Million dollars to help mitigate traffic during Revive I-5 alone. They anticipate 85,000 cars will be diverted off of I-5 and spill into neighborhood streets and by schools. When you add in all the other near simultaneous construction projects, all worthy endeavors, travel on State Routes 523, 522 and 104 have the potential to reach virtual gridlock, certainly at peak hours. All the communities of the north end should be concerned about this.
ReplyDeleteYet the author has threatened to sue Sound Transit over these construction projects as a way to disrupt the bus rapid transit lane and its impact to her propery.
ReplyDelete