Link light rail suspensions start this weekend in downtown Seattle

The second weekend in January will see major Link light rail service suspensions in downtown Seattle.

Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, Link between the Westlake and Sodo stations will be suspended until early Monday. Symphony, Pioneer Square, International District/Chinatown and Stadium stations will close during the scheduled construction project.

Crews will install overhead power lines on the connector with the 2 Line during the downtime, a Sound Transit news release said. The 2 Line is set to connect the Eastside with Seattle later this year.

Once the 1 and 2 lines meet, Sound Transit can theoretically double regional train capacity between downtown Seattle, the University of Washington and Lynnwood — because Eastside trains will curve northward at International District/Chinatown Station.

Sound Transit will shuttle 1 Line passengers to all stations between Westlake and Sodo this weekend, according to the news release. Shuttles will run every 10 to 15 minutes.

Many travelers could save time by taking regular King County Metro buses directly into downtown, such as Route 36 from Beacon Hill, Route 106 from Renton and Rainier Beach, Route 124 from Tukwila, or RapidRide lines C, D and E, which ply Third Avenue.

Trains elsewhere on the 1 Line, out to Lynnwood and south to Angle Lake, will travel 15 minutes apart, compared with the usual 10-minute weekend frequency.

“Passengers traveling southbound from Westlake station will have to get off the train and take the shuttle, reconnecting at Sodo station if they are continuing to travel south,” the release states. “The same will be true for passengers heading north through Sodo station, who will exit the train at Sodo and reconnect at Westlake for the remainder of their journey.”

This is the first of several planned light rail service interruptions: Jan. 10-12, Jan. 17-19, Feb. 1-2 and Feb. 14-16. 

That first February closure involves replacing a loose damaged wire at University of Washington Station that has caused two-minute delays for thousands of everyday commuters since September. Some upcoming night and weekend work will require trains to alternate on a single track at Shoreline South/148th Station, causing minor slowdowns.