A Tour of Link Light Rail

DRAGONFLY SCULPTURE

Yesterday I took the tour of the Link Light Rail construction progress. It was informative and interesting. We ate at an ethnic restaurant where the acoustics made twenty people sound like 20,000.

The new Sound Transit Link Light Rail line from Sea-Tac International Airport to downtown Seattle is a year away from completion. In a snub to the Renton Parks Department the line goes through Tukwila.

There are several segments on the line that have unique features. At the airport it required the relocation of part of the roadway that goes to the freeway. When you drive it’s hard to see how it’s changed because you need to keep all eyes on traffic. From a big bus it’s pretty clear what’s different.

The airport station will be way above the edge of International Boulevard. That’s what they call Highway 99 in that area. Passengers get to amble through the parking garage to get to the ticket counters. For example important business people can get on the train in the Seattle Transit Tunnel without going out in the rain. Then after a smooth ride to the airport, head over to the ticket counter via level 4 in the parking garage. Coming into the airport along with all the other pedestrians will disguise the fact that they came by train rather than the usual limo. Gotta keep up appearances.

On the other side of the station will be a pedestrian overpass so a person can get across the multi lane street safely. For example, one could park in the “Park and Fly” cheaper than in downtown Seattle and take the train to the office. If their company subsidizes transit fares (many do) and provides coupons for airport parking it might be a way to save a few bucks.

When the train leaves the airport it’ll pass a huge development which will be the consolidated Rental Car Facility. Right now the rentals are in the airport garage which means a lot of parking space is unavailable for us. So to add more capacity the Port of Seattle is building an off-site car rental facility. Lots of other big airports have one. I can’t recall what was in that area before but right now it’s full of earth moving machines.

After that the train crosses SR 518 which is actually an extension of I-405. There’s a massive station there which is going to be a transit center. The plan is for thousands of busses to use the surface level to exchange passengers with the light rail in the sky above. It’s essentially a corral of escalators.

From there passengers get an elevated train ride mostly near the freeway to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. At that point the line comes down to the street surface. Here’s where everyone is crossing their fingers. MLK traverses a culturally diverse area where some 14 languages are spoken plus half dozen dialects of English. Not an issue by itself.

The issue is there hasn’t been street level rail traffic in a hundred years around there. That means Sound Transit has to figure out ways to keep folks from walking out in front of the train. You can’t put up signs in every possible language because they would block out the sun. They say they can’t build barriers and fences because the fire department wants to be able to drive over the rails. Elevated costs a lot more. So they do it with art.

Each station has a “work of art” to distract people and make them stop and say “what the heck is THAT?” in their own language, of course. Once they realize it’s harmless they’re supposed to look both ways and safely cross the tracks. If that doesn’t work there are crossing fences to force people to turn toward where the train might be coming. These are called “Z” crossings. That probably doesn’t make much sense unless you see it. You start to cross at “A” street corner, and by the time you get to the tracks… OK, I don’t really know.

Once the train gets to Rainier Avenue there’s a station where everyone can get off and have a Philly Cheese Steak. After that is the Beacon Hill Tunnel.

Sound Transit has built a twin bore tunnel that passes under Beacon Hill and delivers the train near the old Rainier Brewery under I-5. Unfortunately the brewery is no longer there and a coffee company has it now. So stay on the train.

The Operations and Maintenance Facility is located just down the street from the tunnel portal. At that point it turns north again and heads to the sports arenas. That’s where the beer is.
A little wiggle and it enters the transit tunnel downtown. This is a tour all by itself. I think I might do it one day. Busses are free in the core business area. All you have to do is resolve not to give money to panhandlers. You’ll have lots of chances.

At the north end of the tunnel the current line ends. Sound Transit has grand plans but they need more money. They are the ultimate panhandlers.

OK, so we covered the segments, let’s review. Airport station – riders saving money on parking. Elevated Tukwila segment – views of the freeway. Street level MLK Way – pedestrians diving for cover. Beacon Hill Tunnel – toxic stabilization so don’t eat any dirt that falls into the train. O & M Facility to Stadiums – industrial hodgepodge. Seattle Transit Tunnel – busses are free but lots of folks want your money anyway.

There’ll be another transit measure on the ballot in November. They want to build north to the University and east to Bellevue. We might be able to stand it. Newcastle will have to wait a little longer before light rail comes to the shores of Lake Boren. But I got a not paper model of a train set I can take over there.

Al