Sound Transit announcement.
Construction occurring throughout the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension project area includes crews continuing the roadway restoration and station finishes, adjusting utilities, paint striping on the street, systems testing, installing crosswalks and cutting decorative sidewalks in various locations.
During the holidays, the contractor will focus outside the districts. They’ll return in the new year to complete restoration. Currently, the contractor is running systems integration testing along the project area, to identify any issues for the light rail line, prepping it for opening next year. The construction and work schedule are dependent on weather. Please allow for extra travel time to get to your destination and follow detour signage. For details of the traffic control effects, please scroll down to the “Where” section.
Access is open to hospitals, medical centers and the emergency department during construction.
Please support your local businesses during construction. Let’s stay Loyal to the Local!
What
Continued construction and traffic restrictions along Stadium Way, N. 2nd Street, Division Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and the Dome District.
When
- Dec. 2 Update. Work will occur during the day and nighttime hours.
Where
Entire project area:
- Daytime and nighttime track and light rail vehicle testing, electrical testing, traffic signal modifications, decorative sidewalk cutting, channeling revisions, completing station finishes and overhead wiring work for the future light rail system will be occurring in various locations along the alignment during the week (Commerce Street, Stadium Way, N. 1st Street, Division Avenue and MLK Jr. Way). These activities require work at night and weekends. The contractor has obtained a nighttime/weekend noise variance. They will need to temporarily remove parking and shift traffic to maintain a safe working area. Work will occur at night during the week and start at 8 a.m. on the weekends. The noise variance will be in place until the end of January.
- With this work, the public will see trains running at 15-25 miles per hour and stopping at each new station along the corridor. There will be flaggers at five interactions to allow for trains to pass. These locations will be at Stadium Way and I-705 to Stadium Way and 4th, N. 1st St. and Broadway to Division Ave. and Yakima Avenue; Division Ave. and Yakima Ave. to Division Ave. and MLK Way; MLK Way and 6th Avenue to MLK Way and 11th Avenue; and MLK Way and E. Brazill Street to MLK Way and 18th Avenue. The work will have a noise impact of a low noise level of 70 decibels, which is close to the level of vacuum cleaner.
- The contractor will be located at the Old City Hall Station, NE 4th Station, Stadium District Station and Tacoma General Station to finish installation of handrails at the stations. This work is expected to be completed, at all stations, as early as Jan. 20. The work will have a noise impact of 77 decibels, a moderate noise level close to that of a garbage disposal. This work will occur as early as 7 a.m. on the weekends. The stations at 6th Avenue, Hilltop District, and St. Joseph will be completed in January.
- Directional street closures will occur between MLK, N. 1st, Stadium and Division at certain station locations for gutter and downspout installation. Parking will need to be removed in the area during these closures. The work will have a noise impact of 60 decibels, which is about the level of a conversation in restaurant or office.
- There will be revisions to the channelization, or the use of secondary roads to separate certain flows of traffic from the main traffic lanes, will happen at Division and Yakima intersection, Division and I Street and N. 1st at Thriftway. This work will be completed at night. The work will have a noise impact of 73 decibels, a similar level to music being played in a living room.
- The Tacoma Link is now back in service! The T Line will temporarily end at 7th and Commerce, until we start testing later this year. Please make sure to stay within the parking lanes to not impede T Link vehicle access.
- Due to the fall/winter weather, final road and parking lane striping in various areas will occur at a future date. Crews will schedule when the weather allows.
Dome District:
- Westbound E. 25th Street, between G and K streets, is now open. Concrete panel repairs in the area will be scheduled later.
- East 26th St from G St. to D St. is now open.
Commerce/Stadium Way:
- S. 7th Street and Commerce Street intersection is open to two-way traffic. Light rail operations will be using the intersection to turn switch tracks. This will be in place until pre-revenue testing later this year. A traffic flagger will be present during this timeframe. The terminus location for the T Line in the interim will be the Commerce Street Station, found at 11th Street and Commerce. This work is expected to be complete as early as Dec. 2. This work will be completed at night and the contractor has obtained a noise variance from the City. This work will have a noise impact of 70 decibels, which is the level of a radio or TV-audio.
- See Entire Project area information for nighttime and weekend work.
Stadium District (N. E St., N. 1st St., Division Ave.):
- Southbound Stadium Way, between 705 and Broadway, is closed for tree trimming and other work. There will be a shift on Northbound Stadium Way, where the I-705 intersection will lead into Division Ave. Once this work is complete the bike lane will be reopened. This work is pending Tacoma Avenue opening to two-way traffic. This work is expected to be completed as early as Dec. 8.
- S. 4th Street, between Broadway and Stadium Way, will close as early as Dec. 7 for demolition, restoration and sidewalk repairs. This work is expected to be completed in mid-December.
- N. 2nd Street at Division Avenue is closed for roadway restoration for flatwork and roadway restoration. J Street will remain open. This is reopened for the holidays.
- Northbound I Street full closure at N. 2nd St. has been reopened. Traffic will be able to turn southbound on I Street from the east on N. 2nd St. The contractor will need to return in the new year to complete the I Street and N. 2nd St. intersection, as well as the N. 2nd St. and Yakima Street intersection. This is reopened for the holidays.
- Future street closures:
- Westbound N. 1st St. Bike Lane will close and a lane shift on Yakima for vaulted sidewalk repair.
- Westbound N. 1st St. will fully close for vaulted sidewalk repair and concrete pours.
- Northbound I St. will fully close for roadway restoration.
- The Yakima intersection will fully close for roadway restoration
- Tacoma Ave and N. 1st St. will close for roadway restoration
Hilltop/MLK Jr. Way:
- Northbound MLK, from Division Avenue to N. 3rd Street, is reopened. Access to Kaiser Permanente driveway is currently closed from MLK and will be restored this week pending weather.
- The city and Sound Transit walked the project area and have found a “punch list” of work that will require directional closures of MLK to make the repairs. The contractor has scheduled the work in sections from 6th Street to 9th Street, 9th Street to 12th Street and 15th Street to 19th Street, in each direction. Each section will take about four days to complete. Signage will be posted to show the areas of closures with dates. Work will include track slab repair, sidewalk repair and other types of concrete repair. The contractor will keep traffic open where space allows.
- The contractor will have directional closures on MLK, between 15th St. and 19th St., starting as early as Dec. 5. Their plan is to close southbound MLK first for about four to five days, then close northbound MLK for the same amount. Parking will need to be removed in the area during this work.
- Future street closures:
- Crews will be working on MLK Jr. Way and Earnest S. Brazill Street, installing drainage along the future light rail trackway. Work will require a full closure of the intersection. This will take about six days of work, to be completed at a future date.
