Downtown Seattle/Downtown Seattle Transit TunnelLink will travel through the existing Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, serving the central business district and downtown shopping centers with existing stations at Westlake, University Street, Pioneer Square and the International District/Chinatown neighborhoods. Joint operations with buses in the transit tunnel will provide convenient transfers to other regional destinations.
Project Update
The newly retrofitted Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel reopened on schedule for weekday bus service Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. Link light rail trains will join buses in the tunnel when the 13.9-mile rail line from Westlake Station to Tukwila International Blvd Station opens in summer 2009, with a 1.7-mile extension to Sea-Tac Airport opening by that year’s end. While the 1.3-mile tunnel was closed for two years, Sound Transit retrofitted it for joint use by buses and light rail and updated tunnel operating systems.
What’s new in the Tunnel
Beginning September 2005, four different Sound Transit contractors worked inside the tunnel to complete the retrofit. More than 18,000 feet of rail was laid and more than 20,000 cubic yards of concrete was poured. The tunnel, which originally opened in 1990, also was due for electrical, mechanical and safety systems upgrades.
Here’s a look at all the work that took place to ready Downtown Seattle for light rail operations.
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Future riders will have multiple transit options now that a state-of-the-art communications and signaling system was installed to allow for joint bus and rail operations beginning in 2009. Buses and trains will alternate use of station platforms by schedule.
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Passenger entry and exit will be easier with new low-floor rail cars and buses. The roadbed and rails in tunnel stations were lowered six inches to accommodate the new vehicles.
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The latest light rail technology, which has changed significantly since the tunnel was first designed and constructed, is accommodated by the tunnel retrofit.
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Rails throughout the tunnel were replaced and fitted with a “rubber boot” to contain stray electrical current which, over time, causes corrosion to utilities and reinforcing steel in the concrete.
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Upgraded signage will better inform passengers throughout the tunnel and at surface entrances. New electronic variable-
message signs at tunnel stations and platforms will provide real-time train information and emergency instructions.
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Installation of a new fiber optic backbone connects the control center with the computer monitoring, control and security systems throughout the entire tunnel and stations.
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Installation of a state-of-the-art public address system at each station can relay real-time train information or instructions during an emergency.
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Each station received a makeover, improving lighting, correcting water damage and freshening with new paint.
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When light rail joins bus operations in the tunnel in 2009, transit service in the tunnel will expand from a 14-hour day, five days a week, to a 20-hour day, seven days a week. Because this service increase will reduce the time available for maintenance and upkeep, action was taken to increase the lifetime of specific features. Lighting fixtures, for example, were retrofitted with high-efficiency lamps that are brighter and have a longer life.
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Station exhaust fans were replaced with new units in order to meet current National Fire Protection Association standards for such use.
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Sound Transit has also added features to help visually impaired passengers travel to the station platform. A “braid” inset into the existing floor serves as a tactile path to the station platform. A new yellow tactile strip next to the curb at each platform will help people identify the platform edge and stay a safe distance
away from moving vehicles.
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