University of Washington station


University of Washington
Link Light Rail station

The surface entrance to the station, viewed from the southwest
Location 3720 Montlake Boulevard NE
Seattle, Washington
Coordinates 47°38′59″N 122°18′13″W / 47.6496°N 122.3037°W / 47.6496; -122.3037Coordinates: 47°38′59″N 122°18′13″W / 47.6496°N 122.3037°W / 47.6496; -122.3037
Owned by Sound Transit
Line(s)
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Connections King County Metro, Sound Transit Express, Community Transit
Construction
Structure type Underground
Depth 100 feet (30 m)[1]
History
Opened March 19, 2016 (2016-03-19)[2]
Traffic
Passengers 9,340 daily boardings (Q1 2017)[3]
Services
Preceding station  
Link
  Following station
toward Angle Lake
Central LinkTerminus
  Future services  
TerminusNorthgate Link Extension
Under Construction
toward Northgate

University of Washington is a light rail station on Sound Transit's Link light rail system in Seattle, Washington. The station has been the northern terminus of the Central Link line since the opening of the University Link Extension on March 19, 2016.[2] It is located near Husky Stadium and the University of Washington Medical Center on the University of Washington campus, at the intersection of Montlake Boulevard and Pacific Street. The station consists of an island platform situated over 100 feet (30 m) underground, an above-ground entrance, and a pedestrian overpass over Montlake Boulevard.

Sound Transit estimates that there will be 21,500 daily boardings at the station in 2030.[4]

History

Construction

The tunneling contract from UW station to Capitol Hill station came in under-budget by $86 million, or nearly 22%, in March 2009.[5] A groundbreaking ceremony for the station was held in February 2009, and initial excavation began shortly thereafter. Construction of the deep slurry walls and excavation of the station box structure took place in 2010 and 2011. Tunneling toward the Capitol Hill station began in 2011 and was completed in 2012. Construction of the UW station was completed in 2015, and revenue service began in March 2016.

An art installation known as the "Great Wall of Us" surrounded the site during its construction period. The wall, built by the university and Sound Transit, featured photos of faces of various individuals taken at university events.[6]

Location and station layout

Bridge level To pedestrian bridge over Montlake Boulevard, ticket vending machines
Street level To exits/entrances, ticket vending machines
Upper mezzanine Ticket vending machines
Lower mezzanine
Platform
level
Northbound Northgate Link Extension (under construction) toward Northgate (U District)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Southbound Central Link toward Angle Lake (Capitol Hill)

University of Washington station is located east of the intersection of Montlake Boulevard and NE Pacific Street, on the University of Washington campus in northeastern Seattle.

The station consists of a two-story surface structure, containing the station entrances and connections to a pedestrian overpass over Montlake Boulevard to the Rainier Vista, as well as two levels of mezzanines leading to the single island platform, 95 feet (29 m) below the surface. Ticket vending machines (which can either dispense a single-trip ticket or reload ORCA cards[7]) are on the street, bridge and mezzanine levels. The levels are connected by a series of escalators and two elevators.

The station is designed with extra capacity to handle large event crowds leaving Husky Stadium for football games, graduation ceremonies, and special events.[8]

The station was designed by LMN Architects,[9][10] and was praised as the "best Link station" for its architecture and art by Charles Mudede of The Stranger.[11]

Art

University of Washington station has one piece of public artwork, part of the "STart" program, which allocates a percentage of project construction funds to art projects to be used in stations.[12] "Subterranium" by University of Washington alumnus Leo Saul Berk in the station's mezzanine consists of 6,000 aluminum panels cut with patterns and lit with blue lights. Berk took inspiration from the geologic maps for the project and symbols representing the strata of layers below the station, while also adding some original creations.[13][14]

Services

University of Washington Station is the northern terminus of Sound Transit's Central Link line, which runs south to Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport toward Angle Lake station. It is situated north of the Capitol Hill station and connected to downtown by the University Link Tunnel. Central Link trains serve University of Washington Station 20 hours a day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and 18 hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every 6 to 10 minutes during rush hour and midday operation, respectively, with longer headways of 15 minutes in the early morning and 20 minutes at night. During weekends, Central Link trains arrive at University of Washington Station every 10 minutes during midday hours and every 15 minutes during mornings and evenings. The station is approximately 44 minutes from SeaTac/Airport station and 6 minutes from Westlake station in Downtown Seattle.[15]

University of Washington Station is also a major bus station, served by 18 King County Metro routes from the U District and northeastern Seattle, 5 Sound Transit Express routes from the Eastside, and 6 Community Transit commuter routes from Snohomish County at 7 stops in the Montlake Triangle and Rainier Vista area within walking distance of the station.[16] On March 26, 2016, a week after the station's opening, a major bus restructure redirected most bus routes in the area, including the truncation of several express routes to Downtown Seattle, to feed the light rail station.[17][18][19]

References

  1. "Phase Gate Report 7: University Link Extension" (PDF). Sound Transit. February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Beekman, Daniel (March 19, 2016). "Capitol Hill, UW light-rail stations open to big crowds". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  3. "Q1 2017 Service Delivery Quarterly Performance Report" (PDF). Sound Transit. May 25, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. "University Link Light Rail" (PDF). Sound Transit. May 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  5. Mike Lindblom (March 9, 2009). "Sound Transit tunnel bids are cheaper than predicted". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  6. Robert Roseth (August 20, 2010). "UW, Sound Transit build "Great Wall of Us" on construction site". UW Today. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  7. "Ticket vending machines" (PDF). Sound Transit. March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  8. Lindblom, Mike (November 22, 2013). "UW light-rail station on fast track to open 6-9 months early". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  9. "Sound Transit U Link: University of Washington Station". LMN Architects. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  10. Reddington, Mark (March 25, 2016). "University of Washington Station brings it all together". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  11. Mudede, Charles (March 16, 2016). "The University of Washington Station Is Artistically and Architecturally the Best Link Station". The Stranger. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  12. "STart Public Art Program". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  13. Spain, Monica (March 18, 2016). "Seattle Artist Lights Up UW Rail Station". KPLU-FM. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  14. Hickey, Hannah (March 25, 2016). "Geology and art connect at UW light rail station". UW Today. University of Washington. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  15. "Link light rail schedule". Sound Transit. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  16. Ride the Wave Transit Guide (PDF) (March–Sept. 2016 ed.). Sound Transit. March 19, 2016. p. 15. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  17. Lindblom, Mike (March 12, 2016). "Is your bus route changing? Metro moves lines to feed UW Station light rail". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  18. "Link Connections: Adopted Changes". King County Metro. October 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  19. Green, Josh (March 23, 2016). "Major bus route changes coming to Seattle area". KING-TV. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
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