Sound Transit updates East Link preferred route

On April 22, the Sound Transit Board in Metropolitan Seattle updated the preferred alternative for the East Link light rail project. The preferred alternative was modified to include a shorter and lower-cost tunnel option in downtown Bellevue, Wash., as well as a revised at-grade alternative through downtown. Inclusion of the tunnel was facilitated by the City of Bellevue agreeing to provide up to a $150-million contribution.

"We are moving two
alignment options forward into preliminary engineering in downtown Bellevue –
one that includes a downtown Bellevue tunnel and one with an at-grade
alignment," said Sound Transit Board Chair and Snohomish County Executive
Aaron Reardon. "While carrying a higher cost, the tunnel option offers
strong ridership and responds to the strong advocacy by the City of Bellevue
and the city’s term sheet for providing financial support."

Last fall, Sound Transit
responded to the City of Bellevue’s interest in a tunnel by identifying an
option that was shorter and an estimated $200 million less expensive than the
tunnel option identified for further consideration in May 2009. Under a term
sheet the Bellevue City Council adopted recently, the city would provide access
to city property at no cost, provide one-time tax revenues generated by the
project, provide in-kind services, and assume responsibility for all or parts
of East Link capital projects. The term sheet elements would generate up to
$150 million to either reduce Sound Transit cost or increase Sound Transit
funding.

While the identification of
a preferred alternative is an important step in the process, it is not a final
decision. All of the alternatives in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will
continue to be carried forward and evaluated. The Sound Transit Board will
select the final East Link route in 2011 after completion of the final EIS.
East Link construction is scheduled to start in late 2013 or early 2014.
Service to Bellevue would open in 2020 under the at-grade option or 2021 under
the tunnel option. Service to the Overlake area of Redmond is scheduled to open
in 2021.

The updated East Link
preferred alternative updates the preferred alternative that the Sound Transit
Board identified in 2009. The 2009 preferred alignment included at-grade
service through downtown Bellevue. Under today’s Sound Transit Board action, an
at-grade alignment and the tunnel will both be advanced through preliminary
engineering during the completion of the Final EIS, scheduled for publication in
2011.

All of the other
alternatives identified in the Draft EIS will continue to be studied as part of
the Final EIS. Engineering for the preferred alternatives will be advanced to
approximately 30 percent completion.

South of downtown Bellevue,
the updated preferred alternative serves the South Bellevue Park and Ride and
continues north on 112th Avenue Southeast. Sound Transit and the City of
Bellevue will work together to develop design options, and the Sound Transit
Board will identify the specific configuration of light rail on 112th to move
forward in the EIS and for preliminary engineering and mitigation analysis.

The Board expressed
preference for the updated 112th Avenue Southeast route over the longer, more
costly elevated trackway that curved east to I-405 and impacted an additional
wetland and creek. The preferred alternative also reflects the Sound Transit
Board’s desire to provide service to the South Bellevue Park and Ride.

East of downtown Bellevue,
the Board’s preferred route continues to serve the Bel-Red corridor, Overlake
Village and Microsoft’s campus, running in a combination of elevated and
at-grade alignments located parallel and just to the north of Bel-Red Road in
Bellevue and adjacent to SR 520 in Redmond. The Board identified a retained cut
120th Station as preferred, but the design is subject to a term sheet with the
developer providing assurances that Sound Transit’s costs would be equal to or
lower than with an at-grade station. In Redmond, the Board modified the
preferred alignment with a shorter potentially less expensive alternative that
remains adjacent to SR 520 through the Overlake Village area, as proposed by
the City of Redmond.

In all, the preferred East
Link route runs approximately 18 miles east from downtown Seattle to Mercer
Island and South Bellevue, crossing Lake Washington in center roadway of I-90.
The first 14 miles to the Overlake Transit in Redmond are funded for
construction and estimated to cost $2.4 billion (2007$) with a surface
alternative in downtown Bellevue and $2.6 billion (2007$) with a tunnel. Under
longstanding agreements with the state and local partners, the I-90 corridor is
being readied for light rail by constructing new HOV lanes across the lake on
the outer roadways, adding 24-hour HOV service both eastbound and westbound
while preserving the existing number of general purpose lanes.

East Link will connect Mercer
Island, Bellevue and Redmond to the Link light rail system that opened last
year between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport and with the University Link
line from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington opening in 2016.
With the completion of Sound Transit 2 expansions in 2023, it will be part of a
regional light rail system stretching 55 miles. When complete to downtown
Redmond, the East Link line will serve up to 50,000 daily riders on one of the
region’s most congested travel corridors.