Gov. Gregoire to announce 520 replacement tomorrow

Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., Gov. Chris Gregoire will announce the “preferred” replacement for the 520 bridge. TVW will be there taping the event, and I’ll be live-blogging here.

Gregoire will be joined by local and state government representatives for the announcement.

The 520 replacement has caused some controversy: Mass transit advocates wanted room for light rail on the bridge, but the plan so far favored a six-lane replacement with one lane in each direction for carpoolers and buses.

As the Washington Department of Transportation page explains here, the 520 needs to be replaced because it’s susceptible to earthquakes and high wind.

Here’s their video on what could happen in an earthquake, for example:

Tags: 520, bridge, transit, WSDOT