Bicyclists and pedestrians traveling across Lake Washington should plan for an extended State Route 520 Trail closure, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) said. The around-the-clock closure starts at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, and wraps up at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2. Crews will close the portion of the trail between the Montlake neighborhood in Seattle and the Evergreen Point Lid in Medina.

Part of the SR 520 Montlake Project, WSDOT said the 15-day closure is necessary to remove and replace a section of the trail just east of a new bike-and-pedestrian bridge that crews are constructing in Seattle. Because the section of the trail is suspended high above land and adjacent to an off-ramp, there is no viable detour.

After the closure, the trail will include a cantilevered support bridge over the ground below. The SR 520 trail leads to the Montlake Lid being built in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood. The lid over SR 520 is slated to open in spring 2024.

Opened in 2017, the SR 520 Trail is widely used by pedestrians and cyclists as a non-motorized alternative for crossing the lake. Last year, more than 382,000 users crossed the trail counter in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood, about 83 percent of whom are on bicycles. Cyclists and pedestrians are encouraged to use transit to cross the lake during the closure.