Text mode

Printer Friendly | Tell a Friend

Water main work completed, force main work to begin

With the early morning work last week to tie-in the remaining section of the water main, all of the work to install the new water main under 3rd Street has been completed. This week work has shifted to the installation of the new force main that leads to the County's Pump Station located in Kirkland Square. Excavation work for the force main will shift the current northbound lane of traffic but signage and flaggers will continue to direct traffic through the project. Water main work was coordinated with the City of Kirkland and force main work is being coordinated with King County in order to reduce multiple construction impacts to 3rd Street.

For the last few weeks crews have been working near the Peter Kirk Park entrance from Park Lane and 3rd Street as they excavate the storm drain. As a result, pedestrian access to the park in this area has been restricted and the 3rd Street crossing to the park has been closed. Park patrons using the parking garage will notice a new temporary pedestrian path from the garage to the park and directional signage from the garage. 

For more information about the project visit the project page or contact Roger Iwata at roger.iwata@soundtransit.org or 206-689-4904.

Highlights of this issue include: UW site construction activities -- Capitol Hill site construction activities -- Business Seminars for 2010 -- What is University Link

Sound Transit's contractor is beginning to relocate underground utilities from E. Denny Way to make room for the light rail excavation. This portion of the work is expected to take place during the daytime from March to May 2010. During this portion of the work, the intersection of E. Denny Way and 10th will be closed to traffic. Trucks hauling dirt away from this portion of work will travel south on Broadway towards I-90.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 5 - 7:30 p.m. (presentation at 6 p.m.)

Community Center at Mercer View, 8236 SE 24th St., Mercer Island

Montlake Blvd. Sidewalk Revision:

Beginning the week of February 16, 2010, Sound Transit’s contractor started work to replace the sidewalk and install a manhole along Montlake Blvd. at the Pacific Street intersection.  The contractor will demolish the existing sidewalk and establish a temporary sidewalk, using concrete barriers to separate the pedestrian/bicyclist from automotive traffic (see map of temporary sidewalk). The work is scheduled to finish Saturday, February 27.

Downtown Bellevue Light Rail Alternatives – Concept Design Report

In a collaborative process, Sound Transit and the City of Bellevue have released the downtown Bellevue Concept Design Report, which provides a basis for comparing four new alternatives in downtown Bellevue. The Concept Design Report does not make a recommendation. The report evaluates cost, ridership, traffic operations, environmental impacts, plan consistency, construction effects and risk for each new alternative. You can review the report here >>>

Nighttime drivers traveling on southbound Interstate 5 through downtown Seattle should prepare for overnight delays on Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9. Crews working for Sound Transit are preparing the ground beneath I-5 to make way for the tunnel boring machine that they will use to construct the 3.15-mile light rail tunnel extension between downtown Seattle and the University of Washington.

Crews will close two lanes of southbound I-5 between Howell Street and Union Street on Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9. The lane will close at 9 p.m. and reopen by 5 a.m. the following morning. The Yale Avenue on-ramp and Union Street off-ramp will remain open. During the closure crews will perform construction work.

For questions about I-5 undercrossing activities related to Sound Transit’s University Link light rail
construction, please contact Community Outreach Specialist Erin Hunter, 206-370-5511 or erin.hunter@soundtransit.org

S. 56th Street scheduled for weekend closures

Beginning on the evening of Friday, January 22 and again on the evening of Friday, January 29, the street crossing at S. 56th Street is scheduled to be fully closed to traffic as the crossing is demolished and reconstructed over the weekend.  The work will be performed in stages so the crossing can reopen to traffic by the following Monday morning on both weekends.  

This week track reconstruction was completed and a rail turnout was installed in the area between Atlas-Bradken and the Highway 16 overpass.  Next week a section of track north of S. 56th Street will be demolished and reconstructed.  The work is not expected to disrupt Tacoma Rail service to their customers.   By the end of next week, all track construction between S. Chandler Street and the S. 66th Street overpass will be completed.

Excavation work between Steilacoom Blvd. SW and 108th Street continues and site preparation work begins with clearing and grubbing between S. 66th Street and Steilacoom Blvd.   Signals are being installed at S. Chandler, S. 50th Street and S. 56th Street over the next three weeks.

For more information about the project visit the M Street to Lakewood Project page or contact Roger Iwata at roger.iwata@soundtransit.org or 206-689-4904.

Construction activities for the Capitol Hill light rail station began on Monday, 1/11/10.  Denny Way is now closed to traffic between Broadway and 10th for the next several years.  More information and a map are here >>>

Sound Transit invites you to learn more about the upcoming construction activities by attending the Construction Kick-off Meeting on Thursday, Jan 14, 2010 at Seattle Central Community College, Room 1110, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. A presentation will begin at 6:30 pm.

Rail crossing at S. Wilkeson will close to weekend traffic   

Starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 12/11, the rail crossing at S. Wilkeson will be fully closed to traffic as the crossing is demolished and reconstructed.  The crossing is expected to partially reopen to traffic the following Monday morning and be completely open by Monday evening.  However, this work is weather dependant so the schedule and timing could change with conditions. 

Crews this week are working to restore sections of track between S. 50th and S. 56th streets.  The work is being coordinated with Tacoma Rail in order to retain rail service to X-Cel Feeds.  Next week, work begins north of S. 56th St. where crews will be building the mainline and installing track switches. 

Excavation and grading work continues in several areas as equipment and crews are available. 

For more information about the project visit the M Street to Lakewood Project page or contact Roger Iwata at roger.iwata@soundtransit.org or 206-689-4904.

As part of the D-to-M Streets Track and Signal Project, renderings combine photos of existing conditions in downtown Tacoma and the planned tracks, signals and bridges that will move Sounder service farther south.

The new three-dimensional renderings show Sounder train tracks connecting the Tacoma Dome and South Tacoma stations. A Pacific Avenue Bridge is shown crossing over the avenue and under Interstate 705. The D-to-M streets project makes it possible for Sounder commuter rail to serve Lakewood and South Tacoma.

In 2008, the state legislature directed Sound Transit and the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) to complete a feasibility study to “determine whether commuter rail service between eastern Snohomish County and eastern King County…can be a meaningful component of the region’s future transportation system”.  The study was completed in January 2009.  It was determined that commuter rail on the Eastside BNSF is feasible and could be a meaningful component of the region’s future transportation system.  See this PDF file for a brief summary of the analysis.

The feasibility study materials and reports are available on the PSRC website at www.psrc.org/projects/bnsf/reports.htm