SEATTLE — Light rail trains are sharing one track this week while crews fix a sinking track at Royal Brougham Way in Seattle.
Water was ponding on the tracks, and for the last few months, the light rail could only travel through the area at five miles per hour, according to Sound Transit.
"We really need to correct this problem, and it needs to be done in dry, sunny weather," Sound Transit spokesman John Gallagher said.
The ponding could bring the trains to a crawl if it’s not fixed this summer.
Gallagher said the tracks at Royal Brougham have sunk three inches since they were first put down. Sound Transit believes it sank because part of Seattle is built on filled-in tidelands.
"They're actually getting under the ground,” Gallagher said. “They're reconstructing the track underneath and building it in such a way it will prevent future sinking."
Gallagher said the track near Royal Brougham is the only area currently experiencing sinking.
During the project, light rail times will be impacted from Westlake down to Stadium Stations through Aug. 20.
Wait times for trains are nearly 15 minutes compared to the usual eight.
"If you're traveling in either direction through Pioneer Square, you're going to have to get off the train and transfer and that’s going to add about another 12 minutes to your commute," Gallagher said.
Sound Transit said they typically like to do these types of projects in the winter when there are fewer riders, but this job had to be taken care of immediately.
The Mariners are on the road this week, but the Seahawks do have a home preseason game on Saturday.
Sound Transit is working on several projects at the same time. They said the goal is to minimize the overall time of disruption for commuters.