By Ryan Packer

Nearly a decade since work started on planning a new “bus rapid transit” line along E Madison, the RapidRide G project finally marked the start of construction Thursday morning with an event featuring regional elected leaders and transportation heads. The 2.4 mile RapidRide line is now on schedule to open in 2024 when it will provide six minute service during most hours of the day between 1st Ave downtown and MLK Jr Way in Madison Valley with stops across First Hill and Capitol Hill along the way.

“We are celebrating the start of a historic groundbreaking and the culmination of a collaborative planning effort with community members and across partner agencies,” said King County Metro General Manager Terry White. “Working together on a federal, state, regional, and municipal level made the RapidRide G Line a reality. I look forward to returning to the corner of Rev. Samuel B. McKinney and Madison streets to celebrate the start of the RapidRide Service to the neighborhoods it will serve. The G Line will also better connect these neighborhoods with our regional mobility network.”

The groundbreaking ceremony at 19th and Madison in front of the Mount Zion Baptist Church comes during a significant week for transportation projects in Seattle as Sound Transit prepares to open three new light rail stations that make up the Northgate Link extension Saturday morning and the Seattle Department of Transportation opens a new pedestrian bridge connecting over I-5 to Northgate Station at the same time.

Regional leaders like King County Executive Dow Constantine emphasized the work electeds are doing to build a more interconnected transit network.

After years of delays, a “bus rapid transit” solution like the plan for E Madison will take about three years to complete. Construction on the Northgate Link extension began in 2012. The price tags, of course, are also on completely different scales. The new light rail extension had a base budget of $1.9 billion. CHS reported earlier this year on the new bus line’s $134 million budget and a $59.9 million federal allocation to help pay for it.

That budget, by the way, includes an agreement with Capitol Hill’s iconic queer bar Pony on a $250,000 deal with the city in exchange for shaving off a bit of its property to make room for the new project.

The final designs for the 10-station route and a major overhaul to the Madison corridor’s streetscape were finalized last year. You can check out a block by block look at the changes here.

For comparison, the First Hill Streetcar debuted in early 2016 just under three years after its start of construction to complete the 2.5-miler route. Sound Transit footed the $132.8 million bill for that project to compensate for the decision to cut a planned light rail stop on First Hill.

CHS has covered the Madison bus rapid transit project through the years as it has advanced through to full design while seeking full funding. Voters approving the Move Seattle transportation levy in 2015 and Sound Transit 3 in 2016 together moved the project forward, with $19.2 million in levy funding and $35.8 million from Sound Transit got the project closer to its full $133.4 million cost. But without a $59.9 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration construction likely wouldn’t be starting now.

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Mayor Jenny Durkan noted that FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez took the bus to Thursday’s event to get a better sense of the area that the improved bus line would serve. “The RapidRide G line will open up access to a world of opportunities for thousands, without having to set foot in a car,” she said at the event.

SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe noted the accessibility improvements that the city will be making as part of the project, including new curb ramps, sidewalks, and crossing improvements. Those elements contributed to the high project cost compared to other RapidRide lines, but will help to make the transit line much more accessible to users.

The G Line is the most extensive transit improvement project planned as part of the Move Seattle levy, which will be up for renewal in 2024.

Voters were originally promised seven new RapidRide lines, including a streamlined route 48 on 23rd Ave E, but Federal grants like the one obtained by the RapidRide G proved more elusive than leaders had banked on, particularly as the Trump administration took over.

Now just three new RapidRide lines in Seattle, including the G, are moving forward as SDOT looks to make improvements to those bus corridors in less comprehensive ways. Spot improvements along 24th Ave E will start construction soon in that vein.

King County Metro will operate service on the line with 60-foot articulated buses running every six minutes during peak times. A diesel-hybrid bus fleet is being assembled to run the route so there won’t be a major installation of new electric trolley cables along the route.

Card readers at stations allowing riders to enter any of the five doors, 13-inch platforms making it easier for those with strollers or wheelchairs to get on the bus, and designated areas of the stations for cyclists and those in wheelchairs aim to make the loading and unloading process more efficient.

SDOT has said the project design will require removal of approximately 160 parking spaces “to make room for new bus-only lanes and bike lanes.”

Planners are also hoping to address conditions at key intersections including at 12th Ave and 24th Ave where the route will mix with busy traffic flows and bustling streets. SDOT says highlights include shorter crosswalks.

Officials say the construction on the project will proceed “as efficiently as possible while maintaining access and mobility.”

Crews will work “in sections” along the project area and work will generally occur on weekdays between 7 AM and 5 PM. SDOT says at least one lane of traffic will be kept open in each direction “but there will be some times crews have to close intersections, typically on weekends or overnight.”

“Construction will be disruptive,” SDOT said earlier in a message to residents and businesses along the route. “You can expect to see and hear construction activities throughout the corridor during the duration of work.”

Construction impacts will include:

• Noise, dust, and vibration
• Nighttime and weekend work, as needed
• Pedestrian detours
• Temporary utility shut-offs
• Disruptions to daily commute, including traffic detours and temporary driveway, road, and lane closures

ANTICIPATED CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES 

• Repaving the street and building new bus platforms in the roadway
• Placing new bus shelters and other station amenities

Nearly three years of construction will absolutely create a lot of headaches, maybe some of them literal, but at the end of the process the Madison corridor will be transformed in a transit-forward direction.

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