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Video animation highlights design progress for East Link light rail extension

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Narrated 12-minute video provides a close look at the project as final design efforts continue

Sound Transit today posted a narrated 12-minute video that provides an animated look at the advancing design for the Bellevue and Redmond portions of the East Link light rail extension.

The video, which is available to news media in high definition upon request, is posted at http://www.soundtransit.org/EastLinkAnimation

The animation will be featured at a March 25 open house on design progress in downtown Bellevue that Sound transit is co-hosting with the City of Bellevue Light Rail Permitting Citizen's Advisory Committee.

Downtown Bellevue Segment Open House
5-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25
Presentation begins at 5:30 p.m.
Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave. N.E., Bellevue
This event will focus on the design of the segment between Main Street and 120th Avenue Northeast, including the Bellevue Transit Center and Hospital stations.

The 14-mile East Link Extension will give riders a fast, frequent and reliable connection between the Eastside's biggest population and employment centers and those up and down the I-5 corridor between Lynnwood and the Kent/Des Moines area, including downtown Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport, the University of Washington. Example travel times include Mercer Island to University of Washington in 20 minutes and Overlake Transit Center to Bellevue Transit Center in 10 minutes.

East Link's ten stations will be located in Seattle along I-90, Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond's Overlake area. Service is targeted to begin in 2023, with construction getting underway in 2015. Detailed information on the project is available at http://www.soundtransit.org/Projects-and-Plans/East-Link-Extension.

By 2030 East Link is projected to carry about 50,000 riders each weekday. As the region's population continues growing East Link will provide expanded transportation capacity to the I-90 corridor. Increases in the length and frequency of trains over time offer the capacity to carry from 8,000 to 12,000 people per hour in each direction, more than doubling the person-carrying capacity of I-90.