Holes
Originally uploaded by blackracer

UPDATE: We blew this paragraph badly when first posted. Sound Transit said digging, we knew they meant digging but the I wrote tunneling! Not tunneling! That doesn’t start until next year. In the beginning, the digging will be to create the area where the station will be built and the tunnel boring machine will be launched from.
Below, you’ll find the latest construction update from Sound Transit for the Capitol Hill light rail station and tunnels connecting our neighborhood to UW to the north and downtown to the southwest. The picture is a cool shot from earlier this spring as contractors completed the work we reported here to shore up I-5 prior to this summer’s tunneling. As we had been hearing, Sound Transit has now confirmed that tunneling digging will begin in July as the utility upgrade required to power the tunnel boring machine will be in place. Sound Transit told CHS that the start of tunneling digging will also be matched with an increase in public outreach about pedestrian and vehicular safety as truck traffic in the area increases. We’ve also been talking to Sound Transit about putting some technology in play to help us see what is happening behind the big plywood sound walls.

No announcements there, yet, but anybody in a nearby apartment with a view and an Internet connection that wants to host a CHS Web cam, let us know — [email protected]

Capitol Hill Station Construction Update  
• Major shaft excavation and dirt hauling from the Capitol Hill site begins in July. Truck traffic will increase once excavation begins. No night time work is planned for this portion of the work – trucking will take place during the daytime hours. 
• Utility relocation is progressing as planned. The storm line work is finished and sanitary sewer work is nearly completed. 
• Minor changes have increased the amount of work needed for the intersection of 10th Avenue East and East Denny Way. As a result, the schedule for the utility relocation has been extended and the intersection is expected to reopen in early summer 2010. 
• Jet grouting should be done in mid June. 
• The remaining soldier piles will be installed by early June. 
• Gates for the construction wall are nearly complete and painting will continue through early July. Noise from the construction site should decrease once the construction wall and soldier pile work is done. 
For more information: contact Rhonda Dixon at 206-370-5569 or [email protected]. You can also visit www.soundtransit.org/CHStation.

Capitol Hill Station: Seattle City Light Power Work  
Seattle City Light will upgrade power lines on Capitol Hill during the next year to increase their power capacity. The work is designed to meet local power needs, improve reliability, and provide electricity to the Sound Transit light rail station now under construction. For more information visit:http://www.seattle.gov/light/aboutus/construction/

Capitol Hill Site Art Update  
The initial call-to-artists for the wall project has closed, and the decision process is underway to plan which artworks will get underway first. Art activities on The Wall should appear around Pride Weekend.

UW Station Construction Status  
On May 8, 2010 Sound Transit‘s contractor expanded the construction site for the University of Washington light rail station from 4 to 6 acres. In coming months, the contractor will grade the site, extend the construction walls, build slurry walls around the edge of the excavation and excavate part of the station and crossover box. The tunnel boring machines will launch from this site in 2011. 
For more information: contact Wilbert Santos at 206-370-5516 or [email protected]. You can also visit www.soundtransit.org/UWstation

UW Station Construction Wall Graphic Update  
Sound Transit’s contractor is currently extending the construction wall along the station’s site next to Montlake Boulevard. Because the station will not be complete until 2016, Sound Transit and the University of Washington are working together to design graphic art for the exterior of the construction wall. This summer, Sound Transit and the University of Washington will unveil “the Great Wall of Us.” The wall will showcase our region’s wide variety of personalities with photo booth-type portraits of Puget Sound area people. 
For more information: Contact Wilbert Santos at 206-370-5516 or [email protected]. You can also visit www.soundtransit.org/UWstation 

What is University Link?  
• University Link is the 3.15-mile extension of light rail from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington. 

• U-Link includes twin-bore tunnels and two stations, one at Capitol Hill (Broadway and East John Street) and the other on the University of Washington campus near Husky Stadium. 

• Local tax funding for U-Link was approved by voters and the project also received an $813 million Federal Transit Administration grant. 

• Construction of U-Link began in early 2009 and will continue over the next six years. Passenger service is scheduled to begin in 2016. 

• U-Link is projected to add 70,000 daily riders to the Link system, bringing total daily ridership to 114,000 in 2030. Construction of U-Link began in early 2009 and will continue over the next six years. Passenger service is scheduled to begin in 2016.