Arboretum to SR- 520

"From there it became Washington Park Boulevard, which followed the valley between the park's two ridges to Union Bay."

"Just north of E. Roanoke Street, the boulevard turns due west and changes from Lake Washington Boulevard E. to E. Lake Washington Boulevard, following the city's street name designation system."

Jennifer Ott, Lake Washington Boulevard (Seattle)

When State Route 520 was built in 1962, the segment of Lake Washington Boulevard along the highway's route across the Montlake peninsula and the north end of Washington Park was closed for a time during construction. The Seattle Times reported that, "When the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge is opened to traffic, the portion of Lake Washington Boulevard East through the Arboretum will be used as a temporary access route. It will serve primarily as a route for traffic destined south of the downtown area or to the downtown area by way of East Madison Street" ("Lake Washington Boulevard Will Be Reopened").

Plans were then underway to build an expressway, to be known as the R. H. Thomson Expressway, along the east side of Capitol Hill to the Rainier Valley that would carry traffic from the new highway to South Seattle. The expressway was not built as a result of great community opposition, but the "temporary" use of Lake Washington Boulevard through Washington Park continues today.

The SR 520 ramps, which have fed traffic directly into the park for the past 40 years, will be removed when the planned new SR 520 bridge is built, but traffic coming off the highway in Montlake will, according to proposed plans as of 2013, still have access to Lake Washington Boulevard for traveling both south and west.

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