Will the New 520 Bridge Be a Work of Art?

Rob Wilkinson is on a mission. Kind of like Richard Dreyfus with the mountain of mashed potatoes in Close Encounters, he sees something he's sure is there, could be there—if only he could make other people see it. His obsession? The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, and more specifically, the 520 interchange that connects I-5 with Bellevue, and Montlake with the University of Washington. In its place, the designer-turned-activist envisions a sleek array of lanes soaring over the water. A work of art, not just a way to get to work.

In the middle of his Montlake backyard studio office—"the war room"—is a model Wilkinson created with an architect and his 85-year-old mother-in-law. Curls of on-ramps and off-ramps connect to a bridge, like a spring onion in ice water. It's a big contrast with the state government's plans, which as Wilkinson puts it, have "all been variations on the theme of huge and ugly."

Like the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the state Route 520 bridge is aging, is heavily used, and was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Gov. Gregoire has declared the replacement of the 44-year-old structure a priority. And as with the viaduct, the project has been stalled amid a morass of vocal competing interests, financial shell shock, and political paralysis. But unlike the viaduct, there is not endless citywide discussion and "I Heart 520" bumper stickers being sported around town. While the city focuses on the waterfront, the eastern corridor—equally important, busy, and vulnerable to earthquakes and windstorms—is not engendering the same passions. At least, not for most people.

Next week, the Seattle City Council will pass a resolution outlining its hopes and aspirations for the new bridge. While the resolution does not endorse any particular design, sponsoring council member Richard Conlin supports Wilkinson's, and is "pretty convinced this is the right solution."

"We specifically crafted the resolution...[to say] what are the things we want to see happen, as opposed to endorsing one plan or another," says Conlin. "We don't want to get ourselves caught up in that situation—like we got caught up in the viaduct—where essentially we're out front saying, 'We want this,' and then all kinds of other complications emerge. What we wanted to do is lay out what are the criteria, what are the steps that we think are important in making the project work. It's the state's clear responsibility to select an alternative."

Worry about the state Department of Transportation's aesthetic deficit is precisely what got Wilkinson and his neighbor, Jonathan Dubman, a Microsoftie, into this debate. In 1994, the two had a look at the state's proposals for the bridge replacement and were horrified. "If we didn't do anything, we were going to end up with this basic six-lane disastrous alternative," says Dubman, referring to a proposal that's come to be known as Base Six. Recognizing that "this is something we're gonna have to live with for years," Wilkinson and Dubman came up with a design they dubbed the Pacific Interchange and formed an organization to spread the word: BetterBridge.org.

Over the past 10 years, the two have attended endless planning meetings and have earned the ear and respect of local and state officials. "[Wilkinson's] been a great guy to deal with," says Patrick Clarke, a structural design manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation. "He comes with solutions instead of road blocks."

Wilkinson, 59, knows a thing or two about design and artful architecture. A furniture designer with an urban-planning background, he has also photographed public art throughout the world for the past 24 years for his business, Art on File. "This neighborhood is no longer blue collar as it was in the '50s," he says of Montlake. "There are people who live in million-dollar homes. You can't put something in there that's ugly without a fair amount of push-back. I can't imagine that people would accept Alaskan Way Viaduct–quality design."

Plans for the new bridge have been kicking around for about 10 years now, through two governors and various designs. Last December, Gregoire announced that 520's replacement should have six lanes, thus eliminating the four-lane options that were once on the table. What's left is BetterBridge's Pacific Interchange option and Base Six. One look at the competing plans, and there's no contest. Base Six curls chubby tentacles around Montlake and spills out chunky swaths of concrete. The Pacific Interchange sends sleek lanes soaring upward in a streamlined flow. (Both designs can be found on the BetterBridge Web site.)

Two elements in particular distinguish BetterBridge's design from the other option: It incorporates a connection to the new light-rail station planned for Husky Stadium, and includes an appeal to a world-class designer to step in and make this bridge a landmark. Someone on the order of Santiago Calatrava, the Spanish engineer and architect known for his stunning and graceful white structures that match function with elegance. His bridges and buildings are airy and natural, evoking wings and vertebrae, ridges and shells, often bird-inspired forms. His work has been commissioned throughout the world, from Tenerife to Bilbao.