Sound Transit's East Link I-90 bridge project receives a 2017 Best of What's New award from Popular Science

First-ever light rail across a floating bridge recognized in the Engineering category

Sound Transit has received a Popular Science 2017 Best of What's New award in the engineering category for the technology that will enable light rail trains to travel across Lake Washington on the floating I-90 bridge when East Link opens in 2023.

Recognized by Popular Science as a significant step forward in its category, the I-90 bridge project is one of 100 products and technologies across 11 categories selected for inclusion in the Best of What's New issue that was published Oct. 17.

"The Best of What's New awards honor the innovations that shape the future," said Joe Brown, Editor in Chief, Popular Science. "From life-saving technology to incredible space engineering to gadgets that are just breath-takingly cool, this is the best of what's new."

Building light rail across a floating bridge is a world's-first achievement, made possible by innovative engineering to create a track bridge that will compensate for six ranges of lake motion. A video illustrating the track bridge technology can be viewed at https://www.soundtransit.org/blog/platform/crossing-lake-washington.

East Link will extend light rail 14 miles from downtown Seattle to downtown Bellevue and the Overlake area of Redmond via Interstate 90, with 10 stations. All segments of the East Link extension are now under construction, and the entire line will be operational in 2023. The following year Sound Transit will open a 3.7-mile extension further east to new stations in Southeast Redmond and downtown Redmond under funding approved in November 2016.