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AKA: Sound Transit, University of Washington, Seattle, Mass Transit Station, Seattle, WA
Structure Type: built works - infrastructure - transportation structures; built works - infrastructure - transportation structures - bus terminals; built works - infrastructure - transportation structures - railroad stations
Designers: [unspecified]
Dates: constructed 2009-2016
Building History
Construction on a 3.15-mile tunnel connecting the University of Washington Campus with Downtown Seattle began in 03/2009. The job was projected to take 7 years allowing passengers after 2016 to go from the campus to the city center in 7 minutes. According to a brief Seattle Times article of 10/09/2013, the tunnel was scheduled to open in 09/2016, "...but Sound Transit is working with its contractors to open the $1.94 billion tunnel months earlier." (See "Wiring up light rail to U District," Seattle Times, 10/09/2013, p. B1.)
Alteration
Thirteen escalators installed at this Sound Transit light rail stop had experienced periodic failtures by 2018, necessitating an approximately $20 million retrofit. The renovation required new escalators to be installed in some cases and, in others, that escalators be replaced with staircases. The Seattle Times reported on 10/26/2018: "The UW station has a total of 13 escalators that break down far more often than expected. That train stop, about 90 feet below the surface, was built in a compact area, where only two up escalators and two down escalators connect the mezzanine to the boarding level. Staircases exist at the far north and south ends, but these are behind closed doors and designed for emergencies. On Thursday [10/25/20018], the agency said the two down escalators to the lowest level will be replaced by permanent stairs between 2019 and 2022. But first, the lowest flights of the emergency stairs, between a mezzanine and the track level, will be converted to full-time use by March 2019...." (See Mike Lindblom, Seattle Times, "Stairs, stronger escalators to fix UW Station breakdowns," 10/26/2018, p. B1.) During the construction process, Sound Transit administrators selected lower-cost, "commercial-grade" escalators to equip the UW and Capitol Hill Light Rail Stations, instead of the more robust "transit-grade" systems. According to this article, transit escalators have had a problem with breakdowns nationally due to high usership and individuals using them as toilets.
PCAD id: 8874
