2 Line (Sound Transit)

For other uses, see Eastlink (disambiguation).

2 Line
Lynnwood City Center Mountlake Terrace Shoreline North/185th Shoreline South/148th Pinehurst (2026) Northgate Roosevelt U District University of Washington Montlake Cut Capitol Hill Westlake Symphony Pioneer Square International District/Chinatown to Angle Lake Judkins Park Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge over Lake Washington Mercer Island East Channel Bridge over Lake Washington future service (2026) South Bellevue East Main Bellevue Downtown Wilburton Operations and Maintenance Facility East Spring District BelRed Overlake Village Redmond Technology Marymoor Village Downtown Redmond All stations are accessible

East Link is an eastern extension of the Sound Transit Link Light Rail system spanning about 22 miles from Downtown Seattle to the suburb of Redmond. Funding for construction of the portion of East Link between Downtown Seattle and Overlake Transit Center was approved by voters in November, 2008, while the final segment between Overlake Transit Center and Downtown Redmond was identified as a priority extension in a future expansion measure.

Routing

On May 14, 2009, the Sound Transit board decided on a preferred route for East Link. From the International District Station, trains will travel on existing ramps to the Interstate 90 express lanes from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, possibly in mixed traffic with buses. Currently, the I-90 express lanes carry vehicle traffic (both Single occupant vehicles and High-occupancy vehicles (HOV)), but will be modified to serve only trains, and an all-day HOV lane will be added to each direction of the I-90 bridge. The trains will use the center roadway from Seattle through the Mount Baker Tunnel, across Lake Washington and Mercer Island to South Bellevue. Trains will turn and head north from I-90 along Bellevue Way and 112th, before cutting across to Main and I-405. In Downtown Bellevue, tracks will either be in a couplet in the street on 108th and 110th, or underground underneath 108th. The tunnel will only be built if the city of Bellevue provides the $500 million difference needed to construct the tunnel. From there, trains will head east at NE 12th street past Overlake Hospital through the Bel-Red industrial area along NE 16th street. In the Overlake neighborhood, trains will connect with State Route 520 and head north towards Downtown Redmond and Redmond Town Center.

Technical challenges

When the light rail line is completed, it will be the first time that a light rail line has operated on a floating bridge. Challenges faced by Sound Transit include stray current, expansion and contraction of the bridge itself, weight of the rail infrastructure (rails, catenary, etc.), weight of the light rail vehicles, and the expansion joint on either end of the bridge. Expansion and contraction can vary up to 5 feet. This becomes a problem where the floating bridge meets the fixed bridge. Since steel rail does not expand at the same rate as the concrete floating bridge, the excess rail will have to be dealt with if the bridge contracts.

Stations

Name	City/Neighborhood	Location	Other
From North Link via University Link and the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel
East Link (Downtown Seattle - Bellevue - Redmond)
International District/Chinatown	International District	Under S. Jackson St. and 5th Ave. S.	Connections to Central Link, Sounder Commuter Rail and First Hill Streetcar
Rainier	Central Area	In the median of Interstate 90 at Rainier Ave. S.
Mercer Island	Mercer Island	In the median of Interstate 90 at 77th Ave. S.E.	Park & ride improvements
South Bellevue	Bellevue	Above Bellevue Way S.E. at 112th Ave. S.E.	Park & ride, bus transfer improvements
East Main	Bellevue	Above Main St. and Interstate 405 if at-grade downtown, below Main St. and I-405 if in tunnel downtown
Bellevue Transit Center	Bellevue	On 108th Ave. N.E. and 110th Ave. N.E. at N.E. 6th St. if at-grade, under 108th Ave. N.E. at N.E. 6th St. if tunnel	Serves Bellevue Transit Center
Ashwood/Hospital	Bellevue	Above N.E. 12th St. at Interstate 405
124th Avenue	Bellevue	On N.E. 16th St. at 124th Ave. N.E.
130th Avenue	Bellevue	On N.E. 16th St. at 130th Ave. N.E.
Overlake Village	Bellevue, Redmond	On N.E 24th St. at 152nd Ave. N.E.
Overlake Transit Center	Redmond	Next to State Route 520 at N.E. 40th St.	Serves Redmond Technology Park (Microsoft, Nintendo, etc.)
End of light rail extension funded by Sound Transit 2
S.E. Redmond	Redmond	Next to SR 520/Avondale Road at N.E. 70th St	Park & ride improvements, near Marymoor Park
Redmond Town Center	Redmond	Possibly on BNSF Right of Way at Leary Way (Undecided)	Serves Redmond Town Center
End of line

External links

• Sound Transit's page on East Link