University Link Light Rail

For Sound Transit’s light rail extension from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington, Jacobs Associates provided overall project management, design, and geotechnical engineering as part of the Northlink Transit Partners joint venture. The joint venture, under our leadership, is responsible for final design of 3.15 miles (5 km) of twin-bore, soft ground tunnels and two below-grade, cut-and-cover stations. University Link aims to shorten commute times and improve air quality by utilizing a completely underground alignment that crosses under nine lanes of Interstate 5, dense urban neighborhood, and Lake Washington’s Montlake Cut Ship Canal. The twin-bore guideway tunnels will be excavated through glacial soils using pressure face tunnel boring machines, and they will be lined with one-pass precast concrete segmental linings. In addition to tunnels and stations with platform depths as deep as 80 feet (24.3 m) below grade, the team is designing 21 tunnel cross passages and surface pedestrian circulation elements that address urban density at station locations.

Jacobs Associates led the geotechnical engineering and analyses, directed field explorations, designed excavation support, and prepared geotechnical baseline reports for the project. We also provided all tunnel design as well as structural engineering for the station at Capitol Hill. With a travel time of 9 minutes, the University Link extension will provide passengers access to the three largest urban centers in Washington State—downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill, and the University District.