At the junction of SR 520 and Montlake Boulevard in Seattle, construction crews are busy at work laying the foundation for the Montlake lid, the first roof built over a freeway in Seattle since the completion of the I-90 lid in the 1990s. When completed, the Montlake lid will bring new pedestrian and bicyclist connections, a neighborhood plaza with open space, and improved transit stops to a corner of Seattle long bifurcated by the SR 520 freeway canyon.
While the Montlake lid, and the accompanying Roanoke lid, are currently the only freeway covering projects in the works in Seattle, that might change in the near future. Support for building connections across freeways has been gaining in momentum, including among members of the Seattle City Council. On December 8, the land use committee unanimously approved two amendments to Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan asserting its support for using lids and other connections over highways and interstates to reconnect divided neighborhoods. The amendments will go before the full City Council for a final approval vote on December 13.
