New I-405 interchange in Kirkland

WSDOT opened a new Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) at NE 116th St. in Kirkland. The new interchange design will reduce backups and bottlenecks during peak commute times. Learn more about this project that improves traffic flow on and off of I-405 and upgrades pedestrian and bicycle access by adding bike lanes, sidewalks, and lighting.

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[PilcherFamily2]

We have the same problem at the NE 128th Street overpass, with 3 lights for the heavily travelled east-west lanes and priority given to the light traffic from the freeway offramps. Can you look at the problem and see if a SPUI would work 12 blocks north? No construction needed, just re-configuring the lights. The whole Toterm Lake area, especially the hospital, would benefit.

[wsdot]

Thanks very much for your comment! We are glad you like the design of the Kirkland SPUI. Unfortunately, because of the existing design of the NE 128th St. interchange (i.e., the roadway being elevated above I-405), it would be very difficult to change this interchange into a Single Point Urban Interchange without building massive structures. That said, we appreciate your suggestion.

[PilcherFamily2]

What's the chance of a traffic engineer looking at the situation on NE 128th overpass and seeing if a simple retiming of the three consecutive signals would help. I just went through there at 3:30 PM today, and stopped at each of the 3 lights: Totem Lake Blvd, mid-overpass at off/on-ramps, and 116th Ave. NE. It's a PAIN how badly it works.

[wsdot]

We'll look at the retiming of the signals within the next month. If there is a way to speed up through traffic, we'll certainly do it. Thanks for the comment!

[Jason Goldberg]

How is this half SPUI more efficient than the traditional intersection? How the ramp used to operate was, the off ramp would go green for 30 seconds then eastbound/westbound would go green for 30 seconds, so I only had to wait 30 seconds to go whether I'm on the ramp or 116th. Now this new half SPUI, the wait time is around 90 seconds while the green time is less than 30 seconds. Tripling the wait time and shortening the green time is more frustrating than efficient.