Next week, those interested in the future alignment of Sound Transit's East Link light rail line will have ample opportunity to hear about the status of the route selection process in Bellevue.
On Monday, officials from Sound Transit will update the Bellevue City Council on East Link, including a recently proposed route modification that would place the line into a tunnel under 110th Avenue Northeast rather than through Bellevue's downtown one block east of the Bellevue Transit Center. Seattle Transit Blog reports that the new proposed tunnel alignment would save costs by cutting the length of the tunneled section of the route from 5,000 feet to about 2,000 feet.
Sound Transit's board of directors voted earlier this year to express a preference for an at-grade route through downtown Bellevue, however the board agreed to consider an underground route if the city could identify funding options to cover the increased cost of burying the line through downtown.
East Link was part of the Sound Transit 2 package approved by voters in 2008. It is scheduled to begin operation in 2020.
