The new Benson Road bridge opened ahead of schedule, with the first vehicle driving across at about 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Originally, the state Department of Transportation anticipated the bridge would open at 5 a.m. Sunday.

The state had planned for a roughly 24-hour closure of Benson Road over the weekend to allow the final work on the bridge, including paving and striping. It shaved the closure by about half.

The new bridge is 40 feet wide and about 510 feet long and sits higher than the existing bridge

The road is now set in its final alignment, about 30 to 40 feet farther east along most of that stretch by City Hall.

Work is continuing on the project, including building the new offramp from Interstate 405 to Talbot Road. Travelers through the area can expect continued lane closures, said Lisa Hodgson, project engineer for the Washington state Department of Transportation.

The girders for the off-ramp’s bridge over Benson Road are to be placed July 12 and 13. The work will require overnight closure of Benson Road near City Hall.

The piers are already visible.

Eventually, the state’s contractor will demolish the portion of the Benson Road roughly between City Hall and the new bridge and redo the landscaping.

The next major milestone for the $83.6 million I-405 widening project is the complete closure of the freeway the weekend of July 10 and 11 for the removal of the old Benson Bridge.