Major Light Rail Disruptions Begin This Weekend

The next chapter of the "Seattle Squeeze" begins at 11 p.m. Friday, when Sound Transit will close several downtown light rail stations for construction work. This closure marks the first of three weekends where light-rail riders will need to use buses to finish a large portion of trips.

CLOSED LINK STATIONS
Westlake
University Street
Pioneer Square
International District/Chinatown
Stadium

Light rail trains will run as usual between the SODO station and Angle Lake and between the University of Washington and Capitol Hill. Riders who need to connect through downtown will need to find a free bus shuttle. Sound Transit says those will run every seven minutes in groups of two.

Construction crews will use the closure to begin building a temporary platform at the Pioneer Square station, in preparation for a major 10-week disruption in January. During that time, crews will work to connect the existing light rail line to the new Blue Line, which will serve Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond. Since buses carry fewer people than light rail cars, Sound Transit encourages riders to plan for trips to take up to an hour of extra time.

PLANNED WEEKEND CLOSURES
11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11th - 1 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14th
11 p.m. Friday Oct. 25th - 1 a.m. Monday, Oct. 28th
11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8th - 1 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11th

You can find a complete list of shuttles on the Sound Transit page.
Read about the larger "Connect 2020" project here.