Published March 22 2013
The City of Bellevue and Sound Transit will co-host a pair of open houses in the coming days on the East Link light rail project. The first, on Thursday, focuses on the latest design work for the Bel-Red segment of East Link. The second, on April 3, is for community members to review and comment on potential cost-saving ideas for the light rail segment in Bellevue.
- March 28 -- East Link Bel-Red Open House: 4-7 p.m. (with a presentation at 5:30 p.m.), Highland Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road.
- April 3 -- Cost Savings Open House: 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, City Hall, 450 110th Ave NE.
Bel-Red Open House
At this open house, community members can learn about East Link's final design process, which will move the project from the current design level of approximately 30 percent, to 100 percent completion before the planned construction launch in 2015. Throughout this design process there will be many opportunities for residents, neighborhood organizations, property owners and businesses to get involved.
The area that will be the focus of this open house is generally bounded by Bel-Red Road on the south, SR-520 on the north, 116th Avenue Northeast on the west and 140th Avenue Northeast on the east. It also includes two stations planned at 120th Avenue Northeast and 130th Avenue Northeast along the future Northeast 15th /Northeast 16th Street.
Bellevue staff will display city transportation projects under design in coordination with the light rail final design in the Bel-Red area. Also, there will be information about the city's planning efforts for the areas around the 120th and 130th stations.
Cost Savings Open House
Community members can review and comment on potential cost-saving ideas for the Bellevue portion of East Link. A final decision on route refinements is expected in April after further review by the Sound Transit Board and Bellevue City Council.
Since 2012 Sound Transit and the City of Bellevue have been working collaboratively to explore options for reducing the cost of the adopted East Link alignment. The collaboration, part of a November 2011 memorandum of understanding between the two parties that includes construction of a tunnel in downtown Bellevue, has focused on achieving cost savings.
On March 26, Sound Transit is publishing an addendum to the final environmental impact statement for East Link. The addendum, available at the open house, addresses potential cost savings refinements and provides new environmental information. Public comments from the open house will be provided to the City Council and Sound Transit Board.
In addition to the cost-saving ideas in Bellevue, the addendum will cover further design of potential pedestrian and bike bridges over SR 520 at the Overlake Village Station, and at the Overlake Transit Center Station.
Sound Transit's updated projects and plans website offers the most current information on Sound Transit projects throughout the region.