Sound Transit Breaks Ground on East Link Extension

Bellevue, WA - Sound Transit broke ground on Friday, April 22, 2016, on the $3.7 billion East Link light rail extension. The 14-mile route runs from downtown Seattle to Mercer Island and Bellevue, and then to Overlake in Redmond. Ten transit stations will serve the route. Guy F. Atkinson Construction has won two of the first four contracts along this alignment.

The $121.4 million E330 contract builds the downtown Bellevue tunnel, which begins at 112th Avenue and Main Street, runs under the 110th Avenue NE right-of-way for approximately one‐half mile, and turns east near NE 6th Street towards the north portal –  adjacent to Bellevue City Hall and the Bellevue Transit Center. Work includes 585 linear feet (LF) of soil nail wall support of excavation, 325 LF of permanent soil nail wall system, and approximately 1,985 feet of sequential excavation method (SEM) tunnel construction.

The $295 million E335 contract includes 1.9 miles of the new rail alignment through downtown Bellevue including at-grade and elevated track guideway, retained cut/fill segments, and a major cast-in-place segmental bridge over I-405. The contract also includes four stations at East Main St., Bellevue Transit Center, Wilburton/Hospital, and Spring District/120th Street. Atkinson will construct the north portal, track, and other tunnel appurtenances on our overlapping E330 contract.

East Link is expected to open to ridership in 2023.