PRESORTED STANDARD Union Station U.S. POSTAGE 401 S. Jackson PAID January 2012 SEATTLE, WA Seattle, WA 98104-2826 PERMIT NO. 1801 PROJECT UPDATE East Link is on the way! What you need to know Photography by MBjork © 2010 This document was printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) by a FSC certified printer. 67.5k • 1/12 Lynnwood Mountlake Terrace Passengers to and from East Link light rail Shoreline the Eastside will be able to 145th ride between Snohomish County and East Link stations Northgate without changing trains. East Link will be Roosevelt Brooklyn Overlake University of 120th 130th Transit Center Washington OPEN for service Overlake Village Capitol Hill Hospital Bellevue Transit Center SERVING Westlake/Seattle University Street East Main 2023 Pioneer Square South Bellevue Intl District/Chinatown Stadium Rainier Mercer SODO Island 50,000 Beacon Hill daily riders by 2030 Mount Baker Columbia City Othello Rainier Beach Tukwila/Intl Blvd East Link SeaTac/Airport S 200th Link in service Under construction Kent/Des Moines Final Design Redondo/Star Lake In plannning Where we’ve been Planning for the East Link project to build light rail from environmental analysis, numerous opportunities for public engagement downtown Seattle to Overlake kicked off in 2006. In 2008, and preliminary engineering. voters approved East Link as part of the ST2 ballot measure. It’s been a busy five years, and we’re looking forward to furthering our Since then, the East Link team has brought forward detailed relationships in the community as East Link moves into Final Design. 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2011 Project Scoping Conceptual Draft EIS Published Supplemental Draft Preliminary Engineering Sound Transit Board of Directors Provided opportunities Development of Provided information EIS Published Substantially Completed Selected Project to be Built for the public to share Alternatives and collected comments Provided information Engineers completed 30 percent design on the Sound Transit Board selected the route alignment preferences about Collaborated with from the public and and collected comments majority of the preferred alignment. and stations, including a tunnel in downtown the scope of the the community about agencies about the from the public and Bellevue. Environmental Impact design ideas and environmental impacts agencies about the Issued Final EIS Statement (EIS). priorities for the route of the alternatives environmental impacts Provided information about the alternatives and FTA and FHWA Issued Records of Decision and station alternatives. considered for the of new or modified potential impacts. Also responded to comments Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway project. alternatives considered submitted during the Draft and Supplemental Administration issued their Records of Decision. This for the project. Draft EIS comment periods. allows Sound Transit to move forward into Final Design. East Link light rail What’s new with East Link East Link is moving forward With help from the Eastside community, in the last year we’ve selected the East Link alignment and furthered our partnerships with agencies and local governments so that the project can move forward into Final Design. This fall, several significant milestones on the project were reached. First, Sound ransit,T the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in July 2011. This allowed the Sound Transit Board of Directors to select the project to be built, including alignment and station locations shown on the map. Sound Transit also reached agreement with King County, WSDOT, the City of Bellevue, and the City of Redmond regarding the scope and funding of the project. Finally, the FTA and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued Records of Decision for the project. With those major milestones complete, the selected East Link project: • Provides a 14-mile segment of an overall 55-mile system of voter-approved light rail in Puget Sound. • Connects the Eastside centers of Mercer Island, downtown Bellevue and Overlake to Seattle, Snohomish County, To Lynnwood and South King County. • Improves schedule reliability through an almost entirely grade separated alignment. 202 908 N • Includes 10 stations with pedestrian, bus, bike, and vehicle access with 700 bike and over 2,400 vehicle parking spaces. Downtown NE REDMOND WAY • Supports the cities of Bellevue and Redmond redevelopment plans in Bel-Red and Overlake.Redmond Station* • Improves the existing transit centers at South Bellevue and Overlake with new bus facilities, bike parking, and expanded park-and-rides. Kirkland SE Redmond Station* 520 University of Redmond Washington Lake Sammamish Lake Overlake 520 Transit Center Union Station 520 East Link Light Rail (December 2011) 99 Overlake 124TH AVE NE Station 120th 130th Village Clyde Station Station Station 156TH AVE NE 132ND AVE NE Route Profile NE 12TH ST Hill 152ND AVE NE 110TH AVE SE 108TH AVE SE 112TH AVE SE At-Grade Medina NE 8TH ST Hospital Elevated Station Lake NE 6TH ST Tunnel Bellevue Transit Retained Cut / Fill Washington Center Station Seattle Future Downtown LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD SE 8TH ST Bellevue 23RD AVE Redmond Extension East Main 112TH AVE SE Sound Transit is evaluating * The Board also Elliott International Station design modifications on identified a route for a District/ 112th Avenue SE. further extension to Downtown Redmond Bay Chinatown in the future that was Station BELLEVUE WAY SE not funded in the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. Mercer Island Station Rainier Central Link Light Rail 76TH AVE SE Station 72ND AVE SE South Bellevue RAINIER AVE S 80TH SE Station Central Link Alignment and Station University Link Under Mercer Construction Island Final Design To Sea-Tac Airport 0 0.5 1 Mile Where we’re going What’s Next How to stay informed Visit: www.soundtransit.org/eastlink There’s plenty to do before construction begins on East Link. Looking Contact: Katie Kuciemba, Community Outreach Corridor Lead (206) 398-5459, forward, Sound Transit will finalize the design of the alignment, stations, [email protected] art installations, and construction methods, including sequencing and Sign Up: Get email updates by visiting www.soundtransit.org/subscribe and signing up. mitigation. Once the design process is complete, Sound Transit will For information in alternative formats, call 1-800-201-4900/TTY Relay: 711 or construct, test and open East Link for passenger service. email [email protected]. 2012 – Enter Final Design 2013-2015 – Final Design 2015 – Begin Construction 2023 – East Link Open for Service Sound Transit will hire consultants to help The Final Design process includes finalizing the Construction schedule, sequencing and methods Passenger service begins on East Link! bring the project to 100 percent design. alignment details, designing all 10 East Link will be determined in Final Design. This phase stations, and providing opportunities for the will also include testing of the system. community to be involved..