Sound Transit today gave local media a tour of the recently-completed light rail tunnel under downtown Bellevue.
Ride along with The Platform for your own sneak peek!
The tunnel is part of the East Link light rail extension opening in 2023.
The new line includes 10 stations connecting Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue and the Overlake area near the Microsoft campus.
Trips from downtown Bellevue to the International District/Chinatown Station in Seattle will take 20 minutes, no matter how bad traffic is on Interstate 90.
We here at The Platform have followed East Link and tunnel construction from the start and it's incredible to see it so close to its finished state given everything we've been through the past six months.
Check out this video montage of the construction progress and hear from some of the leaders who cleared the way to make it happen and scroll down for more photos. Press the "AD" button for an audio-described version of the video.
Our intrepid photographer recently visited the tunnel and brought back the pictures below.
Or check out this story from last year for more great pictures during construction.
Hats off to the contracting team at Atkinson Construction who starting mining operations in 2017 on the one-third of a mile-long tunnel and managed to finish the excavation five months ahead of schedule, which helped keep the project on track despite delays from the pandemic this year.
Contractors from Stacy and Witbeck/Atkinson will continue rail installation in the tunnel to prepare for final systems and testing work leading up to opening day in 2023!