Nighttime train testing starts back up. N. Tacoma Avenue closure postponed

Sound Transit announcement.

The contractor will need to return to N. Tacoma Avenue for road repairs, which is dependent on the next available dry weather day and subcontractor availability. This will require the crews to close N. Tacoma Ave., north of N. 1st Street, for a few days to apply a new top layer to the pavement. The contractor will be required to put advanced notification signage up before any closure. Train testing will resume at night this week, which will require flaggers and police officers for a roving traffic control influence. They are testing the trains and system along the whole alignment. Spring is here, so the crews plan to start the permanent pavement markings. They have removed all the temporary markings along the project area and will apply the permanent markings when dry weather is in the forecast. Parking will be removed for this work, so the crews can apply the traffic lines and parking lines safely.

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.

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, N. I Street, Division Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and the Dome District. More details specific to neighborhoods are provided below.

When

• April 7 update: Work will occur throughout both the day and nighttime hours.

Where

Entire project area:

• System integration testing along the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension project continues. Starting in early April, the contractor will perform various signal, vehicle and track testing which will occur throughout the project area. The testing will occur during the nighttime hour and have a roving traffic control, with flaggers and Uniformed Police Officers, as they move up and down the future alignment. The project has obtained a nighttime/weekend noise variance, a permit that allows them to make more noise than is typically allowed. 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 as early as 7 a.m. on the weekends. The noise variance will be in place through May. Trains will need to use their bells for safety purposes, like when they around vehicle traffic.
• The T Line terminus will be at the Commerce Street Station. The train will temporarily turn back at 7th and Commerce, until we start testing. Please make sure to stay within the parking lanes, to not impede T Line vehicle access.
• The contractor is planning to start the permanent pavement markings along the project area. Their plan is to start this work when the weather warms up and there are dry conditions but will take two to three weeks. This will require street/lane closures, with parking removal, to paint the permanent pavement markings. The contractor will place notice signage two days before any work is started.

Dome District:

• No civil work related to the project is planned.

Commerce/Stadium Way:

• The southbound lane of Commerce Street, from I-705 to S. 7th Street, will need to be closed on Friday April 7. There are repairs being made to the pole foundation at the Old City Hall Station median. Driveway access will remain. The contractor is looking to see if they can close the northbound instead to mitigate the effect but that is pending a site visit to confirm.

Stadium District (N. E St., N. 1st St., Division Ave.):

• Tacoma Ave. will be closed when the subcontractor is available and there is dry weather, for pavement repairs north of the N. 1st St. intersection. Crews will remove the top layer of the pavement and apply a new layer. Advanced notification signage will be placed when it is scheduled.
• Nighttime testing at the Stadium curve will occur on Friday night April 7, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., the next morning. This will close the southbound lane at N. 1st St. and N. E Street (Stadium curve), for vehicle testing.
• Future street closures:
• Sound Transit will be performing an Emergency Safety Training exercise on Saturday April 22 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the Stadium curve (N. 1st, N. E Street and Stadium Way). This will close the Stadium curve along with Stadium Way to two-way traffic. Property owners along Stadium Way will have local access and can exit southbound on Stadium Way.  

Hilltop/MLK Jr. Way:

• 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 and is scheduled to start May 2023.