New Swift Green Line Stations and Queue Jumps Going Up in Everett

The new eastbound bus lane on 128th Street SW in Everett (courtesy of Community Transit)

In the last few months, Community Transit has been hard at work on the Swift Green Line, the new bus rapid transit line linking Everett's Paine Field area to the future Mariner Link station, Mill Creek, and Canyon Park. Last week, they celebrated the opening of a new bus-only lane on 128th Street SW near its interchange with Interstate 5, which will form part of a queue jump for eastbound buses, complete with a merge pocket on the bridge itself.

A queue jump and merge pocket on the westbound lanes approaching the interchange, which will instead have a shared bus-and-turning traffic lane, is planned to be completed by the end of the year. While Swift buses won't be in service until early 2019, the queue jump will be used by a few of the buses that cross the 128th Street interchange, which previously took up to 17 minutes during heavy congestion.

Work on the Green Line is being divided into four "zones", where each stage of construction, including utility relocation, platform pouring, and station installation, is completed for a set of stations before progressing to the next zone. Construction of station platforms and rebuilt sidewalks in the Airport Way zone wrapped up recently, and the same work has begun in the 128th/132nd Street zone. Community Transit publishes weekly updates on Swift construction that track the progress of station construction and other related projects. On Thursday, February 22, Community Transit will host its next CT Live stream, where questions submitted by the public are answered by the communications and planning staff.

Community Transit is also set to begin a corridor feasibility study for the "Orange Line", which could connect Edmonds to the Lynnwood light rail station when it opens in 2024.

The four "zones" used to stage construction of the Green Line (courtesy of Community Transit)