Five members of the Seattle City Council joined representatives from business, labor, the University of Washington, and Eastside governments Thursday morning to support the state's proposed six-lane 520 bridge replacement (video here) -- even though the size of the controversial Montlake Interchange remains a mystery.

They huddled behind a stack of documents 2 1/2 feet high, compiled during 13 years of design studies.

"The purpose of process is not procrastination," declared Redmond Mayor John Marchione.

On Monday, Montlake-area neighborhoods, along with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, House Speaker Frank Chopp and other officials, called on the state to redesign two of the six bridge lanes for bus-rapid transit and light rail only -- instead of making them high-occupancy vehicle lanes (with express buses included), as legislators approved in 2007.

That sort of change would delay the project up to two years, to rework the environmental studies, replied House Transportation Chairwoman Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, at the Thursday press conference inside the Museum of History and Industry.

Current proposals indicate that a Montlake interchange could be twice the size of what's there now. Clibborn said it must be roomy enough for transit ramps to be added later. In the 20th century, Washington built stubs and "ramps to nowhere" at the Washington Park Arboretum and north Beacon Hill, in vain.

The immediate goal or target of Thursday's gathering seemed somewhat vague. Bellevue Councilmember Grant Degginger (foreground) joked afterward that this was a "We Are the World" group, intended for "the public who sees us as endlessly talking and not doing anything."

What's changed this month, says Clibborn, is that Seattle council members and transportation staff are eager to work with the state on the design. Seattle City Councilmembers Richard Conlin, Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, Jean Godden, and Tom Rasmussen joined her.

Neighbor Robert Rosencrantz, former president of the Montlake Community Club, said the important thing was "what we didn't hear. What's the interchange going to look like, and where it's going to be."

Conlin said most council members are skeptical of the state Department of Transportation's proposal to build a second Montlake Cut drawbridge near the interchange. But there's no alternate concept yet that can use just the current drawbridge, and still have room for separate bus lanes to reach the UW campus.

McGinn said later he's baffled that council members would stand with Clibborn, after they opposed the state's interchange concept, known as "A+," in a letter a few days ago. "Do they support trying to shove a six-lane highway into Seattle, or not?" McGinn said.

He said Seattle DOT will indeed work with WSDOT, if the state considers transit lanes instead of HOV lanes. McGinn said planning should begin right now for a rail link to UW to be operating at or near the time of bridge completion in roughly 2018, not a generation or two later -- and with bridge tolls contributing toward transit costs.

Other 520 drama posted here.

In other 520-related news, a bill is moving through the Legislature to make megaprojects move quicker, by reducing neighbors' and cities' power to challenge permits. SB 6366 would send certain disputes directly to state courts, bypassing local hearing examiners. (Washington courts tend to lean strongly toward government proponents.) In case of a dispute over shoreline permits, the state Department of Transportation could start work anyway in other segments of the project.