The wait is over

King County Executive Ron Sims Says:

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel.

Narrator Says:

And with that welcome back from king county executive Ron Sims, King county metro transit reopened the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel right on schedule.

Monday, September 24th, bus service returned to the tunnel, two years to the day after it closed to be retrofitted by Sound Transit for light rail train service, which begins in 2009.

Eighteen bus routes are now operating in the tunnel, and other surface routes have been reorganized, helping to decongest downtown traffic during peak commute periods.

King County Executive Ron Sims Says:

The reopening of this tunnel equipped for joint operation of both buses and light rail, is a major milestone in our efforts to provide the region with an efficient, modern, integrated mass transit system. King County Metro Transit will continue to own and operate the tunnel, which is one of the original examples of buss rapid transit in the united states, with hybrid buses and link light rail, the tunnel plays a key role in our fight against global warming and it makes public transportation an even more convenient option for people who want to avoid driving alone.

Narrator Says:

The effort of accomplishing all the planned objectives during the two-year closure was massive.

On top of the light rail retrofit, the closure was an opportunity to make long overdue repairs and upgrades, such as improved lighting, as well as a more safety features.

King County Councilmember Larry Phillips Says:

It took four different main contractors, dozens of sub-contractors, and 100's of 1000's of hours to get this station and the entire tunnel back to the bright, gleaming shape it's in today, we ripped out the rail bed you're standing on, 3 miles of it, and added 18k feet of new rails. We went behind these sparkling walls, and put in miles of new communications cable, and we upgraded all the fire, life, and safety systems, to make this tunnel one of the safest facilities in the country.

Narrator Says:

When light rail begins operating from Tukwila and eventually from sea-tac airport, The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel will be the only tunnel of its kind in the nation with both bus and light rail service operating in the same tunnel stations.

Commuters will then have more choices.

Pierce County Executive John Landenburg Says:

This region needs a dedicated light rail right of way for transit to keep things moving. Yesterday morning, some of you may have noticed something unusual here it was raining, it was raining. When it rains, we can have problems on our freeways, a couple of accidents come along, and what you end up with is gridlock on the freeway. Well, when there was gridlock on the freeway and it was a 2.5 hour commute from Tacoma to Seattle, guess what happened, the Sounder trains all arrived on time, all arrived on time from Everett and from Tacoma.

Narrator Says:

It’s estimated that the population in King, Pierce, And Snohomish counties will increase by over a million in the next 20 years.

That projected increase underscores the need for the transportation vision Metro and Sound Transit are showing.

Safe, reliable, and efficient transportation will require creative solutions as the population grows.

Downtown Seattle Association's John Hanley Says:

Downtown Seattle is a critical transportation hub, hundreds of thousands of people make their way through downtown Seattle every day, 230,000 employees work downtown, that's one half of all employees in the city of Seattle and almost a quarter of all the employees in the entire county. Yes, downtown Seattle is the economic engine in the heart of the region, and with growing transit options, it's becoming more accessible to everyone.

Narrator Says:

On top of the tunnel sneak peek six days before the reopening, riders also celebrated day-of at the opening day street fair at Westlake Park.

And during the first week, riders were happy to have the tunnel back.

Rider Allen de Steiguer Says:

Good to be back in the tunnel, it's nice and clean, everything seems to be working fine.

Rider Peter Raygor Says:

[It's] a little more convenient cause you can get from one of downtown to the other quicker than you were able to before, especially if you were getting on a 2nd Avenue bus going south, that was a real, it was really congested during the peak operational hours.

Rider Helen Ann Says:

And it just makes it so much easier, before the tunnel opened back up, I counted the number of lights that the bus had to go through, and it was about 18 lights, and now give or take, what the changes are inside the tunnel, now on the 550 I calculate it only 6, 7 lights, so it's just a much smoother commute, much nicer, I rode it before it closed, but I really like the fact that it's open and I like the changes.

King County Executive Ron Sims Says:

Welcome to your tunnel and the glimpse of the future of public transportation in the central Puget Sound region, thank you very, very much.

Narrator Says:

For more information on the tunnel, visit Metro Online.