Traffic Lab

Traffic Lab
Construction is well underway for light rail from Seattle to Bellevue by 2023 — a corridor approved by voters in 2008. This cantilevered bridge being built over Interstate 90 illustrates how difficult the engineering and construction can be. This view looks southwest toward Mercer Island. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)
Construction is well underway for light rail from Seattle to Bellevue by 2023 -- a corridor approved by voters in 2008. This cantilevered bridge being built over Interstate 90 illustrates how difficult the engineering and construction can be. This view looks southwest toward Mercer Island. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)

Could Sound Transit build light rail faster? Yes, but it's not easy.

Typical light-rail construction schedules of five to 10 years can’t be compressed much, and planning and engineering in the Seattle area take just as long. Here are some strategies that could deliver projects sooner.

Don't Miss

Friday, June 14, 2019. Pedestrians step into the intersection of 5th Ave. and Marion Street as their crosswalk signal flashes walk while traffic turning left down Marion Street are still red giving pedestrians a few second head start across the intersection.

To improve intersection safety, Seattle is giving pedestrians a head start

Bikers use the special “bike lanes” along Second Avenue in downtown Seattle between Union Street and Pike Street on Friday morning September 21, 2018. 207870

Seattle tweaks bike-lane plan after backlash from cyclists

GirlTrek’s co-founder and COO Vanessa Garrison, left, at GirlTrek’s second annual #StressProtest in Estes Park, Colorado, a weekend of radical self-care for Black women that hosted more than 400 attendees.

Ask an expert: How can Seattle make neighborhoods more accessible to walking?

Rush hour traffic, traveling northbound on Highway 99 from West Seattle, gets clogged as they approach the south portal of the tunnel on Monday May 13, 2019. Traffic volumes are about the same as they were on the old viaduct. 210243

Highway 99 tunnel users won’t have to pay tolls until sometime this fall

About Traffic Lab

Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around.

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Contact us at trafficlab@seattletimes.com

Transit

A van at lower left heads northbound on I-405 underneath the concrete girder bridge for light rail trains, with supplemental archwork in sections, between downtown Bellevue and the future Wilburton Station, looking westbound. Shot Thursday, June 19, 2019. 210568

Could light rail be built faster? 5 take-aways from Traffic Lab’s transit event  WATCH

Roads

140198– SEAFOOD FEST LO– 7/13/2014 Circus performer “One Fine Fool,” Jules McEvoy, entertains a large crowd with tricks using inflatable exercise balls on NW Market St. at the 40th annual Ballard Seafood Fest on Sunday, July 13, 2014. The weekend event wrapped up with street performances galore, live music, a superhero costume contest and over 100 vendors.

Traffic alert: I-5 express-lane closures, festivals may add congestion this weekend

Getting Around

A van at lower left heads northbound on I-405 underneath the concrete girder bridge for light rail trains, with supplemental archwork in sections, between downtown Bellevue and the future Wilburton Station, looking westbound. Shot Thursday, June 19, 2019. 210568

Could light rail be built faster? 5 take-aways from Traffic Lab’s transit event  WATCH

Technology

FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2019, file photo a Harley-Davidson Motorcycles LiveWire electric motorcycle is on display during a Panasonic news conference at CES International in Las Vegas. Harley Davidson is hoping to appeal to a younger demographic as it launches its first electric motorcycle. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) NYBZ475 NYBZ475

Harley-Davidson’s electric Hog: 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds