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Learn about where and when construction is happening throughout the ST district.

Stormwater work starts in the Commerce Street and S. 9th St. intersection during the weekend of Feb 20

Publish Date

Crews will install a stormwater system on Commerce Street, starting in the S. 9th Street and Commerce St. intersection during the weekend of Feb. 20. Work hours are Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 a.m. until Sunday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. The contractor also will do potholing in this intersection on Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. During the weekend, the Commerce St. and S. 9th St. intersection will be completely closed. Please follow the detour route on S. 7th St., Pacific Ave., S. 11th St., and Market St. To prepare for this weekend work, the contractor will bring equipment and materials and store them on Commerce St. This construction staging will close Commerce St. to southbound traffic from S. 7th St. to S. 9th St. as soon as Wednesday, Feb. 17.

After the weekend work, the contractor will continue to install the stormwater system on Commerce St. from S. 9th St. to the crosswalk north of the Theater District Station. At the same time, crews will start installing track on Commerce St. from I-705 to S. 7th St. (on Feb 22).

Crews plan to pave and then open Division Avenue from Yakima Ave to I St. by the end of the week. As soon as Feb 22, the contractor will start installing track at the Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Division Avenue intersection near Kaiser Permanente. Crews continue installing track on the east side of Martin Luther King Jr. Way from 6th Avenue to S. 9th Street and on E. 25th St. near the Operations and Maintenance Facility; however, this work is temporarily stopped to resolve design issues. In addition, crews will tie-in the Link power poles to the electrical system on MLK Jr. Way from S. 11th St. to S. 17th St. 

Looking ahead, the contractor plans to install the concrete pad for the traction power substation on N. 2nd Street as soon as Feb 22. Crews also plan to install more Link power poles along the route.

COVID-19. The health and safety of all workers on Sound Transit’s construction sites are of utmost importance to us. Our contractors have primary responsibility for their wellbeing while working on our projects.  Sound Transit is actively working with the contractors and construction management teams on all our projects to assure that public health guidelines are being followed. 

What

Construction and traffic restrictions at Commerce Street, N. 1st Street, Division Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way, S. 7th Street, S. 8th Street, S. 9th Street, and E. 25th Street

When

Week of February 15

Where

  • Commerce Street and S. 9th Street intersection – closed. Crews will install a stormwater system on Commerce Street from S. 9th Street to the crosswalk north of the Theater District Station. The contractor will start in the S. 9th St. and Commerce St. intersection on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 a.m. to Sunday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. In addition, crews will do potholing in the intersection on Saturday night, starting at 10 p.m. for about four hours. During the weekend, the intersection will be completely closed. Please follow the detour route on S. 7th St., Pacific Ave., S. 11th St., and Market St. As soon as Wed, Feb 17, crews will bring equipment and materials and store them on Commerce St. This construction staging will close Commerce St. to southbound traffic from S. 7th St. to S. 9th St. 

    After the weekend work, the contractor will continue installing the stormwater system on Commerce St. At the same time, crews will start installing track on Commerce St. from I-705 to S. 7th St. As soon as Feb 22, Commerce S. will be closed to southbound traffic from I-705 to S. 9th St., and closed in both directions between S. 9th St. and S. 7th St. 
  • Division Avenue from S. G St. to Yakima Avenue -- street closure. Crews are installing track on Division Avenue from Yakima Avenue to I Street near Wright Park. The contractor also is installing track on the section of N. 1st St. near the triangle, and will rebuild the triangle. During this work, Division Ave. is closed in both directions from S. G St. to Yakima Ave. In addition, the slip lane from Division Ave. to N. 1st St. is closed. Please follow the detour on N. 1st St., Division Ave., S. I St., 6th Ave, and St. Helens – thank you. To access Kaiser Permanente and Tacoma General from Stadium Way, continue on Stadium Way to N. 1st St. to Division Ave. The contractor plans to pave on Feb 17 and open this section of street by the end of this week (about Feb 19).
  • Division Avenue from Yakima Avenue to I Street – eastbound lane closure. Crews are installing track on Division Avenue from Yakima Avenue to I Street near Wright Park. Division Ave is closed to eastbound traffic from I St. to S. G St. (in addition to the full street closure from Yakima Ave. to S. G St). Please follow the detour on N. 1st St., Division Ave., S. I St., 6th Ave, and St. Helens – thank you. To access Kaiser Permanente and Tacoma General from Stadium Way, continue on Stadium Way to N. 1st St. to Division Ave. The track installation in this area is expected to be completed by the end of this week (about Feb 19).
  • N. 1st Street from N. G St. to Yakima Ave – lane closure. As part of the track installation on Division Avenue, crews are installing the curved rail from Division Ave. to N. 1st St. N. 1st St. is closed to northbound traffic near the triangle. In addition, the slip lane from Division Avenue to N. 1st St. is closed so crews can build the new triangle at Division Ave./N. 1st St./Yakima Ave. 
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Way from S. 10th Street to 6th Avenue – northbound lane closure. Crews continue installing track on the east side of Martin Luther King Jr. from 6th Ave. to across S. 9th St. MLK Jr. Way is closed northbound from S. 10th St. to 6th Ave. In addition, S. 7th St., S. 8th St., and S. 9th St. are closed from MLK Jr. Way east to the alley. Please follow the detour on S. J St. Crews may work on Saturdays starting at 7 a.m. Currently, work has temporarily stopped while a design issue is resolved. The contractor plans to complete this work by the end of February/beginning of March.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Way from S. 11th St. to S. 17th St. – lane restrictions. Crews are tying in the existing electrical service to the Link power poles. The contractor will tie-in 3 poles in a two block section. They will start on the west side of MLK Jr. Way from S. 11th St. to S. 13th St., and work in this area for one to two days. Then, they will move to the area between S. 13th St. and S. 15th St. and next to S. 17th St. Crews will return later to continue from S. 17th St. to S. 19th St. and to continue on the east side of MLK Jr. Way going north to S. 11th St. This initial tie-in work is for the poles in the middle of the block. Crews will return later to work in the intersections. 
  • East 25th Street from McKinley Ave. to E. J St. – eastbound lane closure. Crews started installing track on E. 25th St. near the Operations and Maintenance Facility. Currently, work has temporarily stopped while a design issue is resolved. E. 25th St. is closed to eastbound traffic between McKinley Ave. and E. J St. Please follow the detour on Puyallup Avenue. The contractor plans to work in E. 25th St. for several months, doing track installation and other work.

More

  • Driveway and pedestrian access is maintained, although some sidewalks and crosswalks will be temporarily closed. Pedestrian detours will be in place. 
  • Buses will follow detour routes. Visit PierceTransit.org for information.
  • Construction noise related to replacing the underground utilities and installing track.
  • Large construction equipment or materials may be in the right-of-way.
  • Work will generally take place during the daytime hours unless otherwise noted. Daytime hours during the week are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The contractor usually works less hours.
  • Businesses are open during construction.
  • Plan ahead and allow extra time to reach your destination.
  • Due to inclement weather or unforeseen issues, dates and times are subject to change. 
Construction map for Commerce street, Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension