Possible construction plans for State Route (SR) 520 are facing opposition from several groups, and have been a topic of concern for UW officials and students.

The proposed tolls may become an issue for commuter students and long-term traffic changes near the UW campus area worry UW administrators. The projected amount for the toll is anywhere between $5 and $10 round trip.

“If it were $10, I would drive around the whole lake,” said student Jessica Dorr, who drives across the SR 520 bridge often. “To stop and pay money will cause an insane amount of traffic. There are so many students that live on the east side that commute to school and back daily.”

State officials have produced three options for the SR 520 project: the K alternative, which would place a tunnel under the Montlake cut; the L alternative, which would place a bridge over the Montlake cut; and the A alternative, which would keep the interchange much like as it is now. These alternatives also consider the variation in numbers of lanes; both four-lane and six-lane options are being considered.

“We have concerns about the K alternative for several reasons,” said Theresa Doherty, assistant vice president for regional affairs.

Doherty worries about the impact this alternative would have on the University, because construction would take three to five years to complete and require about 15 acres to build the tunnel.

“This will adversely impact the people who use the Medical Center parking lot on a daily basis,” Doherty said. “We are also concerned with what this will do to the stadium, as well as the long-term increase in traffic in areas around the stadium and local neighborhoods.”

The cost of the proposed projects will fall between $3.9 billion and $4.38 billion, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The state plans to implement a toll on the SR 520 and I-90 bridges to fund the project.

“The governor recently created a three-member panel to go into the communities to find out what people would be willing to pay and what their feelings are toward tolls,” Doherty said.

Both the governor and mayor are in support of the six-lane option, which is a concern for certain community members. A group of 50 members from nearby communities has sent a letter to state and local officials urging them to consider the four-lane option.

“SR 520 has needed to be replaced for many, many years, and I and a few others have been urging people to replace it,” said Chris Leman, vice president of the Eastlake Community Council, who drafted the letter. “Unfortunately, the effort has been diverted and delayed to dramatically expand it.”

The Council members are concerned that the four-lane option may be dropped and not considered at all as a viable option.

“Basically, the four-lane alternative is sustainable in three ways: financially, environmentally and for traffic,” Leman said. “The letter documents the fact that, unfortunately, the state may ignore the four-lane alternative.”

The Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks (FSOP) group, also involved in the mediation process, has some concerns with the four-lane option as well.

“We want any solution to the 520 rebuild to minimize impact on the arboretum,” said Brooks Kolb, a landscape architect for FSOP. “We’re not particularly backing any solution; we simply want to point out flaws in solutions that have been created so far. A six-lane option would require more columns and paving, and they would be much more environmentally intrusive.”

Kolb is extremely concerned with the impact these projects will have on the arboretum.

“The new 520 — whatever the design turns out to be — will be the most major impact on an Olmstead park of any of the impacts we are aware of,” she said. “Our board is constantly studying existing and proposed impacts on the parks, and all of those impacts are pale in comparison with this proposed 520 project affect on the arboretum.”

Construction of the new bridge is estimated to begin in 2012 and completed by 2018. State officials are still working on finalizing which project will be implemented.

[Reach reporter Lia Pittman at news@thedaily.washington.edu]