Seattle Sound Transit construction update

Written by jrood

Before the excavation of the Capitol Hill Station of the University Link light rail project can begin, there is a great deal of work needed to prepare the site. To prevent the sides of the excavation from collapsing once excavation begins, the contractor will use walls made of soldier piles and lagging. Steel beams are dug into the ground, and wooden or steel planks are placed between the beams to hold the earth in place.  

As early as March 23, Sound
Transit’s contractor will install soldier piles for the utility work taking
place in E. Denny. This work is scheduled to go until 10 p.m.

As early as April 1, the
sidewalk on the south side of E. John between Broadway and 10th Ave will be
closed for up to three months. This closure will allow Sound Transit’s
contractor to complete jet grouting on the north side of the site, and to
install the soldier piles to support the excavation of the station. Pedestrian
traffic will be re-routed to the sidewalk on the north side of E. John.

The evening of March 24, Sound
Transit’s contractor will be opening a new access road to the Husky Stadium
parking lot. These roads will be in place for the next few years while the
contractor continues to excavate the site and start the tunneling activities.
The roadway will also include a protected sidewalk for pedestrians and
bicycles.

Later next month, the
contractor will install a new traffic signal at the intersection Montlake Blvd.
NE and NE Pacific St. to allow southbound traffic to make a controlled left
turn onto the new access road. The signal installation will involve lane
closures on Montlake Boulevard, and is being done at night to minimize the
traffic impacts. 

Beginning March 24, 2010,
Sound Transit’s contractor will start work to install an electrical vault
adjacent to the E17 parking lot at Husky Stadium. This work requires a sidewalk
detour around the utility work. The detour will be in place until mid-April. 

After this work is
complete, the contractor will install an electrical ductbank under Montlake
that will require lane reductions at night.

University Link is the
3.15-mile extension of light rail from downtown Seattle to the University of
Washington. U-Link includes twin-bore tunnels and two stations, one at Capitol
Hill (Broadway Ave E. and East John Street), the other on the University of Washington
campus at Husky Stadium. Construction of U-Link began in early 2009 and will
continue over the next six years. Passenger service is scheduled to begin in
2016.

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