Sound Transit Shares Ballard Link CID Station Alternative Studies
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Sound Transit shares study results of Ballard Link CID station alternatives.
Courtesy of Sound Transit
SEATTLE - Sound Transit shared results of studies conducted on the Chinatown-International District (CID) station options.
These were requested by the Board in 2023 and consider ways “to minimize or eliminate construction impacts and reduce the duration of construction, and ways to maximize regional and local connections,” according to a release from the agency. Experts reviewed CID design alternatives, construction approach, and duration. They offered ideas on how to construct the 4th Ave Shallow Alternative in such a way that would reduce the length of construction and impacts to local communities. The findings are for the Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative, 5th Avenue Shallow Diagonal Alternative, and the 4th Avenue Shallow Alternative. Detailed visuals on these study results can be found at the link here.
Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative
The Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative is expected to take 6-7 years to construct. There are a limited number of construction duration drivers that include a gas line and Seattle Boulevard.
According to Sound Transit, “the Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative would begin north of the SODO station and continue east of the existing Link light rail line and extend north. The alternative would then enter a tunnel heading north beneath 6th Avenue.”
5th Avenue Shallow Diagonal Alternative
The 5th Avenue Shallow Diagonal Alternative is estimated to take 5-6 years to construct. Construction duration drivers include “prioritizing minimizing business displacements, minimizing effects to historic buildings, and avoiding effects to the Historic Chinatown Gate.”
4th Avenue Shallow Alternative
This alternative is expected to take 10-12 years to construct. Sound Transit shares this alternative is very complex. Among the very limited construction access, there are poor soil conditions, complex underground structures, and a close proximity to BNSF Railway.
There are also the following cost drivers and risks that are unique to this alternative, including a “risk in further lengthening construction duration (beyond 10 to 12 years) due to stringent safety requirements and other restrictions with construction next to active BNSF Railway mainline tracks.” There is also additional scope to rebuild the 4th Avenue viaduct. Because 4th Avenue S sits on an elevated structure between S Main Street and Seattle Boulevard S., construction of a station underneath 4th Avenue S would require demolition and reconstruction of the viaduct.
The study results are provided as resources for the Sound Transit Board and the public ahead of the publication of a Ballard Link Extension Draft EIS publication in 2025. After, a public comment period will occur, and the Board may confirm or modify the preferred alternative.
