The Northeast 36th Street Bridge will open for traffic after the grand opening ceremony, which will be held Wednesday, Dec. 15 on the south side of the bridge, near Northeast 31st Street, beginning at noon.

The public is invited to join local, state, federal and business representatives in the opening celebrations.

The well-engineered, landscaped, off-set lid bridge is constructed over State Route 520 and will better connect the Overlake neighborhood, including the Microsoft campus. City officials say the new bridge will also help alleviate the projected population and employment growth in the Overlake area, which without the new bridge, was expected to overwhelm the existing 40th Street connection over SR 520.

The City of Redmond began construction on the $30 million bridge project in spring 2009, partially made possible with $7 million from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The project was a partnership between the City of Redmond and Microsoft Corp., which donated $17.5 million to the project and the city funded the rest of the $5.5 million of the project. The bridge, which was built by Bellevue-based Tri-State Construction, includes one through-lane in each direction, bike lanes, sidewalks, intersection improvements and direct connections to the SR 520 trail. It also accommodates the future Sound Transit Link Light Rail alignment.

“The Overlake area is a dedicated regional center and our vision is for it to become a vibrant urban neighborhood with more amenities and activities to draw people to live, work and visit,” stated Redmond Mayor John Marchione. “This bridge improves circulation of people and goods by linking the east and west sides of the Overlake employment center across SR 520.”

Some construction will continue in the area after the opening causing temporary congestion. The entire project should be complete by late winter 2011.