Seattle, WA

What’s up with the I-405 bridge to nowhere in Bellevue?

Published

2 years ago

May 11, 2023

What’s up with the I-405 bridge to nowhere in Bellevue?

The new bridge over Interstate 405 (I-405) in south Bellevue looks like a bridge to nowhere. Is it part of the freeway widening or something else?

I’ve been watching the construction of this bridge for months. It’s over southbound I-405, just south of SE 8th Street. It doesn’t seem to be attached to anything, and it appears to be a dead-end on the hillside on the left side of the freeway.

I figured it had something to do with the ongoing widening of the freeway, but it just didn’t look right or make sense to me. I found my way to King County’s Curt Warber, the manager of the Eastrail Project for King County Parks, for an explanation.

Seattle street improvements complete at 51st Ave, Renton Ave

“You’re not the only person who has been confused by that new bridge because people drive under it and look on both sides and say ‘there’s no road there, what is happening with that bridge,’” Warber said.

This bridge is a part of 26 miles of new trails being built along the former Burlington-Northern Railroad line from Woodinville to Renton.

The train used to run right through the middle of I-405 there. It went under the northbound lanes and over the southbound lanes.

“That is why 405 is split there, why there’s a northbound split and a southbound split so the train could make its way through,” Warber said.

Those of us who have been here for a while will remember that you drove through a tunnel on southbound I-405 at that spot. It was removed in 2008 during the last I-405 widening project.

“They took out that old Burlington Northern train tunnel, but they had an agreement that when the time was right, they would build a new pedestrian and bike over crossing over the highway to reconnect it,” Warber said.

And that’s what this is. This will provide a trail that crosses the freeway.

“Until we get this thing open, nobody has a good sense of what’s going on up there between the northbound and southbound lanes, but there’s a way to sneak through there,” Warber said. “It’s going to be a lovely trail when we get it done.”

And I think what’s confusing many people, including me, is the size of this bridge. It is a lot bigger than a typical bike and pedestrian bridge, at almost 30 feet wide.

More Chokepoints: New flyover ramp to cross I-5 in Seattle this month

“We also need to be able to get in there with dump trucks and backhoes and do ditch maintenance, and in 20 years, we’re gonna have to get in there with a paver to repave it,” Warber explained. “We own these trails forever, so we really need to be able to get in there with big construction equipment and fix that trail when needed.”

This trail expansion is also part of what drivers have been seeing along I-405 from the VMAC to Coal Creek Parkway, where the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is building two-and-a-half miles of trail.

This project will also include the paving of the beautiful wooden trestle that crosses SE 8th Street. The trail will put you up on top of that.

The bridge over I-405 will be finished this year, but the trail in the area won’t open until late 2025 or early 2026, as work to connect the trail to the trestle continues until then.

Check out more of Chris’ Chokepoints.

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Seattle, WA

Former Seattle Mariners Star Alex Rodriguez to Stay on Hall of Fame Ballot For Another Year

Published

1 hour ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Former Seattle Mariners Star Alex Rodriguez to Stay on Hall of Fame Ballot For Another Year

Former Seattle Mariners star Alex Rodriguez is set to stay on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for at least another year.

While it’s unlikely that A-Rod gets into the Hall of Fame this year, he has enough votes to take another run in 2026.

Thus far, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame tracker, Rodriguez has gotten 47 votes out of 104 ballots. He would need to appear on 244 more ballots to get in this year, which seems like a tall task.

It’s unknown if Rodriguez will ever get in, given his admission of performance-enhancing drug use, but he continues to hang around the conversation.

Drafted No. 1 overall in the 1993 MLB Draft, Rodriguez made his debut with the Mariners in 1994, staying through the 2000 season. He made the All-Star team four times with the Mariners and won a batting title in 1996. He also hit 42 homers and stole 46 bases in an incredible 1999 season. He helped the Mariners to the playoffs in the 1995, 1997 and 2000 seasons. The M’s got to the ALCS in that 2000 season, taking the New York Yankees to six games. He also played for the Yankees and Texas Rangers.

In addition to Rodriguez, former Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is essentially a lock for the Hall of Fame. He’s currently on 100 percent of the ballots. Felix Hernandez is currently on 26 percent and Omar Vizquel is on 14.4 percent.

The Mariners have two true representatives in the Hall of Fame: Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Other players like Adrian Beltre and Randy Johnson spent significant time in Seattle but are representing other teams in Cooperstown.

You can follow the tracking here.

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.

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Seattle, WA

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams

Published

9 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams

While the Los Angeles Rams might have rested several of their key starters and limited the snap counts of those who did play against the Seattle Seahawks, you certainly can’t accuse them of not making a concerted effort to still win the game.

The Seahawks had to make a late red zone stand to win 30-25 in their season finale. Even if the Rams didn’t treat this game with the utmost importance in terms of playoff seeding, it did impact who they’ll play and potentially their road to the Super Bowl.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC South earlier in the day, the Rams needed to win to remain the No. 3 seed or else they’d drop to No. 4. That’s the difference between playing the Washington Commanders and the NFC North runner-up Minnesota Vikings, whom the Rams did defeat on a Thursday night back in October.

Seattle’s win has set up a Rams vs. Vikings rematch for next Monday night, while the Buccaneers will rematch the Commanders on Sunday night.

The Rams dropping to No. 4 means that unless the No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles and No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers both lose next weekend, the Rams would have to go on the road for the NFC Divisional Round. As a No. 3 seed, the Rams would’ve only needed a Green Bay Packers win over the Eagles to snag a second home game, much in the way the Detroit Lions did last season when the Packers thrashed the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys.

Maybe, just maybe, the Seahawks sent the Rams to a more difficult path for a Super Bowl run… or even to get out of the opening weekend. If Minnesota sends the Rams packing, I think we’d be all happy with giving LA a tougher matchup.

While you’re here, check out the full Wild Card schedule for next week.

Saturday, Jan. 11

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 1:30 PM PT on CBS, Paramount+

No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 5 PM PT on Prime Video

Sunday, Jan. 12

No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 10 am PT on CBS, Paramount+

No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1:30 PM PT on FOX

No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5 PM PT on NBC, Peacock

Monday, Jan. 13

No.5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 5 PM PT on ESPN/ABC

Byes: Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions

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Seattle, WA

Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season

Published

17 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season

The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football to wrap up the NFC North and the No. 1 overall seed. It also means that the Vikings will not only be on the road as a 14-3 team playing in the Wild Card against the Los Angeles Rams next Monday night, but they’ll be returning to Lumen Field to play the Seattle Seahawks in the 2025 regular season.

Game 272 was the final piece of the puzzle for the Seahawks’ 2025 opponents list. Whichever of the Vikings or Lions finished second in the NFC North would be headed to Seattle next season. While it would’ve been cool to see the Lions finally play at Lumen Field again after three straight Seahawks-Lions meetings in Detroit, it’s not happening.

The schedule is formulaic, which means the NFC West will play the whole of the AFC and NFC South, as well as the same-placed opposition from the NFC North (home), NFC East (away), and AFC North (away). Next season will be the AFC’s turn to get an extra home game, so the Seahawks will have nine away trips.

Home

Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

San Francisco 49ers (6-11)

New Orleans Saints (5-12)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)

Indianapolis Colts (8-9)

Houston Texans (10-7)

Minnesota Vikings (14-3)

Away

Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

San Francisco 49ers (6-11)

Tennessee Titans (3-14)

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)

Washington Commanders (12-5)

Atlanta Falcons (8-9)

Carolina Panthers (5-12)

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

The early returns on Michael Penix Jr and the late surge by Bryce Young could make the NFC South portion of the schedule much tougher than it looks right now. Never assume the league is so static that the teams that were good/bad now will remain the same the following season.

The NFL regular season schedule will be released at some point in May.

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