Construction work has commenced on Sound Transit’s 4.3-mile Northgate Link light-rail extension from Husky Stadium to stations serving the U District, Roosevelt and Northgate in the US.
The $2.1 billion Northgate Link Extension will run mostly underground through one of the most congested travel corridors in the region. When opens in 2021, the project will offer fast, frequent and congestion-free service 20 hours a day that connects North Seattle destinations with the University of Washington, Capitol Hill, downtown Seattle, South Seattle, Tukwila and SeaTac airport.
Northgate Link construction will get underway with demolition activities in the Roosevelt area. Next year, Sound Transit will select a contractor that will excavate the underground stations and use tunnel boring machines to construct twin 3.7-mile tunnels from north of the Roosevelt neighborhood to the University of Washington Station. Tunneling will begin in late 2014.
Other future construction contracts will cover construction of Northgate Station and the elevated guideway to the tunnel portal, finishes at the U District Station, finishes at the Roosevelt Station, utility work and systems and track work.
Construction continues to move forward toward a 2016 opening of the University Link light-rail extension between downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium. Sound Transit is also preparing to move forward with an expedited extension of light rail southward from the airport to South 200th Street that will also open in 2016.
By 2030, Link trains are projected to carry more than 300,000 riders each weekday. In all, construction of Sound Transit 2 projects through 2023 is projected to create more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs.