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Sparks fly inside the future underground Roosevelt Station

Fresh pics: Going underground at Roosevelt Station

By Bruce Gray
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Wouldn't it be nice to have a train from Northgate to UW, downtown Seattle and the airport during all of this #Viadoom business?

It's in the works! 

The Northgate Link light rail extension is about 70 percent complete and on track to open in 2021.

The 4.3-mile extension running north from the University of Washington includes new stations in the U District, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods.

Trips from Northgate to downtown Seattle will take 14 minutes, no matter how bad traffic is on I-5.

Our talented young photographer, Glenn Landberg, and I checked in on Roosevelt Station construction recently and we're happy to share a few shots with you. 

If you enjoy photos like these, follow us on Instagram and tune in on Fridays for our regular "Field Trip Friday" stories where we visit Sound Transit construction sites around the region. 

And of course, subscribe to The Platform to get the latest news and photos delivered to your inbox!

Before jumping into the photos, here's a video montage of our recent visit:

Northgate overview

From Northgate, Link will continue to Lynnwood and Everett. We're scheduled to open to Lynnwood in 2024 and Everett in 2036. 

On to the photos!

Workers walking on the Roosevelt Station construction site
Construction at Roosevelt Station is about 70 percent complete. Crews are focused on finishing the station entrances, or headhouses, seen here on the left.

 

Aerial view of the Roosevelt Station headhouse
Looking down on the north station entrance headhouse from the tower crane. That's Roosevelt High School across the street. To the left where you can see construction material staging will be 200+ affordable apartments.

 

Aerial view of the Roosevelt Station south headhouse
Looking down from the crane at the south station headhouse in the lower right portion of this shot.

 

A look at a stairwell to the platform inside the future Roosevelt Station.
Riders will have the option of taking public stairs, escalators or elevators from the surface to the platform about 90 feet underground. Here we're on the platform looking up one of the future staircases.

 

A look at some of the stairwell entrances inside the future Roosevelt Station.
Stairs from the surface will lead to a mezzanine landing where you can look down over the platform. This shot is looking up those stairs from the landing. It's going to be a dramatic porch to look out over the trains coming and going.
Looking down the platform from the future underground Roosevelt Station
The view looking north from the platform. Trips from Roosevelt to Westlake in downtown Seattle will take 10 minutes!

 

Sparks fly inside the future underground Roosevelt Station
I'm not sure what's going on here but I love this picture.

 

The vents for the giant fans that provide ventilation in Roosevelt Station and the tunnels dwarfs a construction worker.
Our escort peers into one of the station ventilation screens. Behind these louvers is a jet fan that can be activated to move smoke out the station and tunnels in an emergency.

After years of planning and looking at artists' renditions of the station entrances and interiors, it's incredible to see it coming together.

Hats off to the hard-working men and women who have put in almost four million labor hours so far building the Northgate stations and tunnels.

Check out this presentation for more details about how the station interiors and entrances will look when it's finished.

More stories on Northgate construction

Hopefully this isn't the first time you've run across our continuing coverage of Northgate Link construction.

Check out our past stories for more action shots and information.

Fresh photos from U District Station

Northgate Station looking good in its fall colors

Grinding rails for Northgate tunnels

Getting dirty underground: hard work pouring concrete for Northgate rails 

Northgate Link update - the view from above (drone footage)

More light rail to the north, east and south

Check our system expansion page for details on the overall regional light rail expansion taking light rail to the East Side, Federal Way and Tacoma. 

 

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