University Link Light Rail
Location: Seattle, Washington
Owners: Sound Transit
Market: Rail
Construction Cost: $750 Million (Estimated)
Construction Start/End: 2008/2016 (Estimated)
Jacobs Associates’ Role: Final Design Project Management, Tunnel Design, Station Structural Design, and Geotechnical Engineering in Northlink Transit Partners Joint Venture
This 3.15-mile light rail extension will provide passengers a quick 9-minute commute between Washington State’s largest urban centers. University Link, or U-Link, will connect downtown Seattle and the University District, with a stop in between at Capitol Hill. This underground project aims to shorten commute times while reducing carbon emissions. Sound Transit, the owner, anticipates that by 2030 the U-Link line alone will add 70,000 riders a day to their light rail system.
Major elements of U-Link’s final design scope include soft-ground, twin-bore tunnels that service two below-grade, cut-and-cover stations. The project also involves ancillary structures associated with highway undercrossings, (like the nine-lane Interstate 5,) plus pedestrian circulation elements, (such as a pedestrian bridge,) which address urban density at station locations. The final design will yield eight different construction packages.
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