Sound Transit's East Link light rail line, now known as the 2 Line, extends 14 miles from downtown Seattle to the Overlake area in Redmond, with 10 stations in Mercer Island, South Bellevue, downtown Bellevue, BelRed (Bellevue) and Overlake. Preliminary service for the Eastside stations began in 2024. The completed 2 Line began service across Lake Washinton on March 28, 2026.
Light rail construction in Bellevue
There are six 2 Line stations as well as the downtown tunnel in Bellevue which were constructed in separate segments.
- Tunnel: Approximately one-half mile of tunnel from Main Street to Northeast Sixth Street. The tunnel was completed in September 2020.
- South Bellevue Segment: I-90 East Channel Bridge to Southeast Fourth Street on 112th Avenue Southeast. It includes construction of the South Bellevue Station including a new 1,500 stall parking garage, now open for use.
- Central Bellevue Segment: Southeast Fourth Street on 112th Avenue Southeast to 124th Avenue Northeast. Work began spring 2017 with all major construction completed in the third quarter of 2022. This segment includes the East Main Station, Bellevue Downtown Station, Wilburton Station and the Spring District/120th Station.
- BelRed Segment: 124th Avenue Northeast to the intersection of Northeast 20th Street and 136th Avenue Northeast. This segment includes the BelRed/130th Station and a 300-stall park-and-ride lot.
The following segment includes stations outside of Bellevue city limits:
- SR 520/Overlake Segment: Northeast 20th Street to Northeast 40th Street at Overlake Transit Center (in Redmond). This segment includes the Overlake Village Station and the Redmond Technology Center Station.
- I-90/Seattle-Mercer Island Segment: From International District/Chinatown Station to the East end of the East Channel Bridge. This segment includes the Judkins Park Station (in Seattle) and the Mercer Island Station (in Mercer Island).
Aerial footage
Approximately five miles of light rail trackway were being built in Bellevue. View a comparison of aerial footage captured in May 2020 of the East Link alignment in Bellevue with the animation of the light rail created in 2014 when the project was designed to 60 percent.
- Aerial footage of the East Link alignment in Bellevue (May 2020)
- Computerized animation of the East Link alignment from Seattle to Redmond at 60% design (March 2014)
- Webcam time-lapse video of the construction of the Bellevue Downtown Station
Safety
Safety is of utmost importance and pedestrians and motorists should expect trains to be running at all times. It is important to look both ways, only cross at designated crossings and stay behind the yellow line.
View our light rail safety video available in eight languages on our YouTube channel at:
Operations and Maintenance Facility - East
In addition to the stations, Sound Transit completed construction on an operations and maintenance facility in the BelRed area, where light rail cars will be stored and maintained. The facility is needed to house the expanded fleet of light rail vehicles that will come with East Link. Design of the facility complements the BelRed Corridor Plan to transform the 900-acre corridor into vibrant transit-oriented developments.
Sound Transit information resources
- East Link Extension
- East Link Construction Alerts (subscription)