BELLEVUE (NBC 26) — A temporary lane closure at a high-traffic intersection in Bellevue has created new safety problems, prompting village officials to approve a permanent fix.
More than 17,000 vehicles travel through the intersection at Landmark Boulevard and Costco Way every day. Temporary barriers installed there last fall were meant to reduce accidents.
"We started seeing more and more traffic collisions, more close calls," Village Administrator Benjamin Krumenauer said.
But the closure had unintended consequences. Drivers began making U-turns just past the barricade and turning left into the Costco parking lot. Krumenauer said nearly 30 percent of vehicles entering the lot at the first median cut were simply using it as a cut-through.
"They are," Krumenauer said. "Almost 30 percent of vehicles going into the lot at that first median cut are just traveling through the lot to get on with their business."
The village board has voted to re-introduce a left turn lane back onto Landmark Boulevard for traffic turning onto Costco Way.
"It will put in permanent medians and turning lanes to direct traffic," Krumenauer said.
The project will cost the village about $110,000.
"Our goal is to make it as safe as possible for the vast majority of individuals," Krumenauer said.
The village expects to bid out the project in August, with a goal to open the new left turn lane before snow falls.
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