Update on Sound Transit’s Sinking Track Near Stadium Station
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Sound Transit’s Stadium Station
Courtesy of Oran Viriyincy
SEATTLE – Between its Capitol Hill and SODO stations, the track near Stadium Station has sunk three inches, and repairs will cost around $750,000.
More information has come forth about the sinking track between Sound Transit’s SODO and Capitol Hill stations. According to the Seattle Times, repairs to fix the sinking track will cost around $750,000 and will include “leveling the tracks, [replacing] concrete panels beneath and alongside the rails and adding fill sediment below the surface.”
The executive director of operations, Suraj Shetty, said that his theory of why the track is sinking is due to weak fill soil from regrades and debris disposal from the early 20th century. So far, the track has sunk three inches since 2009.
The track slopes downward in both directions at the Stadium station entrance, and “a makeshift patch of asphalt covers an abrupt edge where the road lane meets damaged concrete in the trackway.” And if the track is sagging, then it increases the risk of an “abrupt drop or failure” if crews are not able to fix the track in time. Shetty went on to say that over time, “trips through standing water can damage wheel assemblies. . . And when trains brake on a slick, wet track, the sliding motion causes flat spots on the steel wheels.” The station is currently closed so there is enough time for the work to be done and for the concrete to cure completely.
