A sneak peek at the Crosslake Connection

Over-the-shoulder shot of the operator cab in the Mount Baker tunnel (Nathan Dickey)

Yesterday, Seattle Transit Blog writers had the opportunity to join local media outlets to tour the highly anticipated 2 Line cross-lake connection, which is the final piece that will fully unify both the 1 and 2 Lines as it was envisioned in ST2. The connection will fully open to the public this Saturday, March 28th with ribbon-cutting at 9am and revenue service starting around 10am.

The media preview started at South Bellevue Station, which has already been open for Eastside-only revenue service since Spring of 2024. Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine opened his welcoming remarks with a lofty prediction: Saturday's opening is expected to be the biggest" in Sound Transit history. Longtime board member and King County councilmember Claudia Balducci followed up by highlighting East Link's long history, both as a political project" in Bellevue as well as its technical challenges.

According to Craig Delalla, director of engineering and operations at Sound Transit, the agency is well prepared for the opening given the many learnings from simulated 2 Line service. Delalla also noted that revenue service will see a mix of 2 and 3-car consists, with 3-car sets more reliably going out during peak periods.

Mercer Island Station

The tour departed South Bellevue Station westbound with stops at Mercer Island and Judkins Park. From South Bellevue, we flew over the I-90 & Bellevue Way interchange before crossing the East Channel Bridge. Although the floating span on the Homer Hadley bridge has received the most attention for its engineering marvels, the flyover views leaving South Bellevue arguably boast better scenery.

After a few minutes' ride, we arrived at Mercer Island, where we alighted for a 20 minute tour of the station, which sits between 77th Ave SE on the west end and 80th Ave SE on the east end. Michael noted an inconspicuous discrepancy on the station maps: Exit A" is marked at 77th Ave SE on the Sound Transit station area map, but at 80th Ave SE on Metro's bus bay map.

Mercer Island station is sandwiched in the I-90 median, so tall noise barrier walls help dampen the highway noise. Each entrance connects to the platform via stairs, an up escalator, and an elevator. Seattle artist Beliz Brother created a sculpture for each headhouse. The full details of the station were discussed in a recent article.

West entrance to the Mercer Island Station (Michael Smith)

Interestingly, the station's final conceptual design in 2016 included two escalators at the east entrance but only one escalator was installed there. Brian Holloway, Sound Transit's Director of Infrastructure Engineering, explained that the second escalator was removed from the design as part of construction cost savings efforts in the late 2010s. However, the east entrance structure was built with space to install a second escalator as a potential future upgrade to the station.

The east entrance to the Mercer Island station hints where a second escalator could be installed if station upgrades are considered in a future project (Nathan Dickey). Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge

After exploring Mercer Island station, we boarded another train heading to Lynnwood. The train traveled under Mercer Island's I-90 lid and onto the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge across Lake Washington. The ride across the bridge was smooth with stunning views of the water. Sound Transit staff challenged tour participants with detecting when the train passed over the unique track bridges" spanning the stationary and floating sections of the route as it is difficult to tell when the train transitions from water to land. It was incredible to experience the result from decades of technical, political, and legal effort. On the west side of the bridge, the tracks tuck under I-90's westbound lanes and travel through the Mount Baker Tunnel.

Crossing the floating bridge toward Seattle on the 2 Line (Nathan Dickey).

Judkins Park Station

Judkins Park station is the only new 2 Line station in Seattle. The center platform is aligned closer to the 23rd Ave headhouse. The Rainier Ave entrances are accessible via an at-grade rail crossing and a short path. The 23rd Ave and northbound Rainier Ave entrances have stairs, an up escalator, and an elevator. The southbound Rainier Ave entrance has stairs and an elevator. At each entrance, murals of Jimi Hendrix by Hank Willis Thomas welcome passengers. On the platform, the windscreens feature art by Barbara Earl Thomas, Director of the Northwest African American Museum from 2008 to 2013.

Grand Opening Saturday, March 28

The full album of pictures and videos from the preview ride is available here. Everyone is invited to explore the Crosslake Connection on Saturday. Numerous stations along the 2 Line will host community events. See you there!