Excavation was completed this week in the tunnel that will eventually connect the Downtown Bellevue Link and East Main light rail stations once the train is operational.
The East Link light rail will connect Eastside riders to destinations across King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. When East Link opens in 2023, passengers will be able to ride more than 42 miles of light rail, from the Eastside to Northgate and all the way to Angle Lake.
The tunnel was drilled using a process called the sequential excavation method (SEM) which uses track-mounted excavators to remove soil in small sections, then spray the excavated areas with concrete.
The tunnel was completed in 15 months - five months earlier than expected.
"Today is a breakthrough in every sense of the word. This tunnel is the culmination of over a decade of vision, hard work and tenacity by local and regional leaders, planners, workers and many, many members of the public who all insisted on a great transit connection through downtown Bellevue,” said Sound Transit Board member Claudia Balducci.
Now that the tunnel is complete, crews will begin work on the tunnel's final concrete lining. The process is expected to take about a year to complete.
Once service on the East Link section begins, eastbound trains will enter the tunnel north of the East Main station at 112th Avenue NE and Main Street and emerge at the future Downtown Bellevue Station.
The tunnel is about one-third of a mile in length.
The East Link will eventually extend 14 miles, starting in Downtown Seattle and ending in the Overlake area of Redmond, traveling via Bellevue.
Eventually, the link will be extended into Downtown Redmond in 2024.
