A March “Community Corner” [update] in the Madison Park Times by Madison Park Community Council president Maurice Cooper stated that a planned highway lid at the Montlake Boulevard interchange with state Route 520 will be 400 feet in length.
WSDOT [Washington State Department of Transportation] would like to correct the record on this point: The final concept design for the lid, as shown in the January 2015 Final Concept Design Report — collaboratively developed by WSDOT and City of Seattle, with extensive community feedback — recommends an 800-foot-long lid.
The article also states that the University District Community Council is “fighting aggressively” for WSDOT-owned land adjacent to the Washington Park Arboretum, known as the “WSDOT Peninsula,” to be “returned” to the arboretum upon completion of SR 520’s reconstruction. WSDOT has already committed to transfer a portion of the WSDOT-owned land in the arboretum-ramp area to Seattle Parks and Recreation.
The extent of the transfer area will be determined through appraisals of acquired and replacement properties and documented in a real estate agreement between WSDOT and the City of Seattle. This commitment is documented in the Record of Decision (Page 33).
— Roger Thompson, WSDOT Communications SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program