Demolition of Bellevue's Paragon Hotel begins

Demolition of the 40-year-old Paragon Hotel in Bellevue started Monday and will continue through March to clear the way for bridge construction at Northeast 10th Street.

Steve Peer, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said the bridge is expected to improve access from Interstate 405 to downtown Bellevue and the medical district. It also is expected to ease traffic on Northeast Eighth Street.

The bridge will be open in about a year.

During the project, one northbound lane on Northeast 112th Street near the hotel site will be closed intermittently, Peer said. Motorists can expect delays on southbound I-405 traffic at the Northeast Eighth Street off ramp.

The Paragon Hotel opened in 1969. WSDOT bought the 208-room hotel and closed it in May 2007.

Additional traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts.