Bellevue Light Rail Construction To 'Get More Real' Very Soon, Rogoff Says

BELLEVUE, WA - Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff spoke to the Bellevue City Council on Monday night to talk about upcoming construction milestones for the East Link light rail project. Construction will include digging a tunnel underneath Bellevue, and eliminating the I-90 express lanes. Rogoff told the City Council that the project is about to "get more real" in terms of construction.

Here are some of the upcoming impacts Bellevue residents and workers can expect:

Closure of the I-90 center lanes: The light rail line will travel from Seattle to Bellevue via the I-90 express lanes; the lanes are scheduled to close to vehicles on June 3. Before the closure, the Washington state Department of Transportation will complete new HOV lanes along I-90 to make up for the express lane closures.

Closure of the South Bellevue Park and Ride: The lot will close for five years beginning on May 30, although bus service will still be available there. Sound Transit has leased a number of new lots on the Eastside to make up for the disruption. You can see an interactive map here.

Utility work: Sound Transit crews working on the four stations in Bellevue will need to do a lot of work around and with utilities, including moving some. The intersection of 110th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 2nd Street, for example, has been disrupted recently due to utility work.

Ongoing tunnel excavation: Tunneling underneath Bellevue kicked off in February, and crews have already excavated 150 feet. The tunnel should take about two years to complete, and will stretch 2,000 feet from 112th Avenue Northeast and Main Street to 110th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 6th Street.

The East Link line is expected to start service in 2023. The best way to stay up to date with construction is to visit the Sound Transit construction updates page.

Image via Sound Transit