Final design process for Downtown Bellevue light rail kicks off with open house

With the East Link alignment now established, community members are encouraged to take part in the final design effort.

Sound Transit is kicking off the final design process for the East Link light rail extension’s Downtown Bellevue segment with an open house.

Downtown Bellevue segment final design kick-off
5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 16
Presentation begins at 5:30 p.m.
Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave. N.E., Bellevue

The East Link light rail alignment is now final following April 25 action by the Sound Transit Board approving cost-saving options identified in conjunction with the City of Bellevue, reducing the project’s cost by $30 to $53 million. The final design process will advance design work from approximately 30 percent to 100 percent completion.

Final design will offer continuing opportunities for residents, neighborhood organizations, property owners and businesses to get involved. Attendees of this open house focusing on the Downtown Bellevue segment will learn about work to establish station designs and permanent station names, as well as concurrent City of Bellevue projects and more.

Riding East Link between Seattle and Downtown Bellevue is projected to take less than 20 minutes. By comparison, in the afternoon peak period it can currently take approximately 45 minutes to travel between Seattle and Bellevue via I-90.

As the region’s population continues growing East Link will provide tremendous new transportation capacity to the I-90 corridor. Increases in the length and frequency of trains over time offer the capacity to carry from 9,000 to 12,000 people per hour in each direction, which would more than double the person-carrying capacity of I-90 and is roughly equivalent to seven to ten freeway lanes of vehicle traffic. By 2030 East Link is projected to carry more than 50,000 riders each weekday.