Sound Transit is out with its latest construction update for the University Link light rail project that will tunnel through the Hill and connect downtown to Husky Stadium via the Broadway station. You can sign up for the e-mail newsletters here, by the way. In this month’s update, Sound Transit provides some tallies on current truck traffic and touts a scrap metal recycling project that helps feed the homeless in… Kent. Guess Sound Transit hasn’t seen the crowd that lines up for dinner on Broadway in front of the construction pit on a regular basis.

We also reported recently on the start of nighttime work to install a new system to remove water from the construction pit and news that the Sound Transit board has voted to continue spending 1% of project budgets on public art. No sign — yet — of that giant crane, though.

And, oh yeah, Bottle Cap Slats is complete.

Safety reminder: Autumn means less daylight  
Autumn is here and along with the change in weather comes fewer hours of daylight. Truck traffic is heavy around both construction sites as excavation gets into full swing. Sound Transit reminds you to use extra caution as you travel on Capitol Hill and around the University of Washington.

Construction update for Capitol Hill Station 

• Excavation and shoring is about 53 percent complete.
• An average of 16 -18 trucks per day make round trips to and from the site to haul away the dirt.
• Crews are working 8-10 hour days Monday thru Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• The excavation should reach final depth before the end of the year.
• Jet grouting continues through the end of the month at the tunnel boring machine extraction site near 9th Avenue and Pine Street.

For more information on the Capitol Hill Station, please contact Rhonda Dixon at 206-370-5569 or[email protected]

Construction update for University of Washington Station

• Slurry wall construction is over 30 percent complete.
• Truck traffic varies greatly day by day. On a high volume day, as many as 50 trucks may come and go from the site. Trucks hauling dirt from the site operate only during the day and not during rush hours.
• Construction is in full swing, and work is ongoing 24 hours per day, 6 days a week. Night time work includes excavation and placing rebar cages for the slurry wall.

For more information on the University of Washington Station, please contact Roger Pence at 206-398-5465 [email protected]

Scrap Metal from construction helps feed the homeless  
Traylor Frontier Kemper, the contractor for constructing the tunnels from the University of Washington Station to the Capitol Hill Station is turning its scrap metal into meals for the homeless. The contractor recently began using Raynes Recycling / “Make a Difference” to dispose of scrap metal fromconstruction. Raynes uses the proceeds from the recycling to prepare hot meals for the homeless. Every Thursday at 6 pm in Kent, dinner is served to as many as 70 people. During the Christmas season, Raynes also operates a Christmas tree lot to help raise money for this effort.

If you would like to donate scrap metal, food or clothing to “Raynes Recycling,” please contact Bryan Raynes at 253-332-8010.

U-Link Trains arrive at Port of Tacoma  
The first seven of the 27 University Link light rail car shells were delivered to the Port of Tacoma in August, and all car shells should be here by February 2011. The Port of Everett may be used for some of the 27 deliveries. The vehicle’s manufacturer, Kinkisharyo International, LLC, plans to move the shells from Tacoma to their final assembly site in Mukilteo. Assembling the vehicles is creating about 30 fulltime jobs and all vehicles should be assembled by September, 2011. The University Link line, which will connect downtown Seattle to the University of Washington, is under construction now and scheduled to begin passenger service in 2016.

What is the 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 FederalTransit Administration grant.

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.