Description
Sound Transit’s Central Link light-rail construction includes a retrofit of the existing Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel that will begin in September 2005 and the construction of a short tunnel extension known as the Pine Street stub tunnel.
The retrofit of the existing transit tunnel will enable joint use of the tunnel by buses and light-rail trains. Work involves demolishing the existing rail troughs within the tunnel roadway and installing new embedded light-rail tracks. Crews will lower the floor of the tunnel in the station platform areas to enable level boarding of trains and buses.
Crews will also repave portions of the tunnel roadway between Convention Place Station and International District Station, reconstruct the roadway between International District Station and Royal Brougham Way, and install foundations for poles to support the overhead electrical wires.
The tunnel will include upgraded electrical, mechanical, fire and safety systems. The tunnel will be closed during the retrofit for up to two years, beginning in September 2005.
The stub tunnel, located under Pine Street between Seventh and Terry avenues, will accommodate crossover tracks that allow trains to change directions of travel. Crews are using the cut-and-cover method of excavation, working downward from the street level. A temporary deck will be installed over Pine Street, allowing two lanes of traffic to be maintained while construction continues below.
Balfour Beatty’s work in the tunnel will facilitate later tunnel improvements by other contractors, including installation of a state-of-the-art communications system, an upgraded closed-circuit television system, and a new integrated signaling system for buses and trains.
Running buses and trains in the transit tunnel will dramatically increase the tunnel’s carrying capacity and provide a fast and easy transportation alternative for commuters. It is projected that more than 40,000 riders will use these services every day.
When the tunnel is reopened to buses in 2007, new hybrid diesel-electric buses will be used. Joint light rail and bus operations will begin in 2009.
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Contractor:
Balfour Beatty Construction,
1282 Valentine Ave. S.E.,
Pacific, WA 98047,
(253) 863-8160
Engineers:
URS Corp., 1501 Fourth Ave.,
Suite 1400, Seattle, WA,
(206) 438-2700
Puget Sound Transit
Consultants, 1100 Second Ave
Seattle, WA, (206) 398-5404
KPFF Consulting Engineers,
1601 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA,
(206) 622-5822
Architects:
Moniz Associates, 4120 51st
Ave.N.E., Seattle, WA 98115,
(206) 522-7422
Streeter Architects, 185
University St., Seattle, WA
98101, (206) 621-9270
(Tunnel design) CH2M Hill, 777
108th Ave. N.E., Suite 800,
Bellevue, WA 98004-5118,
(425) 453-5000
Owner:
Sound Transit
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Other Participants
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Airplaced Concrete Specialists
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Apollo Geophysics Corp.
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BB Rail Marta Track
Constructors
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Coles Consultants
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Corona Steel
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CS3W
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DBM
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Dodd Consulting
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DS Purcell Painting
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E.L. Mason
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Elcon Corp.
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Emerald City Weatherproofers
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Everson’s Econo-Vac
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E.W. Moon
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Glacier Northwest
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Granite Precasting & Concrete
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Griffin, Hill & Associates
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Harris Rebar
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Haskell Corp.
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Houston M Drayton Associates
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ICC
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Icon Materials
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Icon Surveyors
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John Wayne Construction Co.
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JVH Construction Services
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Karen Kiest Landscape
Architects
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KDD & Associates
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Kone
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Lin & Associates
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Matt Harris Associates
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Nuprecon
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Plantscapes
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PND
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Precision Iron Works
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PSI
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Reliance Fire Protection
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Renton Concrete Recyclers
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Roberts Engineering
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Rupert Construction Supply
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Salinas Construction
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Security Barricade
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Stephen’s Enterprises
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W.A. Botting
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