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The Sound Transit light rail station project in Mountlake Terrace is on track to begin some early work this summer, such as completing permitting, demolishing some buildings, clearing land and some geotechnical tests.
Construction on the station is still scheduled to begin next summer, according to officials with the project. They gave an update on the status of the station during an open house on Thursday, June 14 at the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center.
While the project remains mostly on the track discussed at the last open house held in June 2017, there were a few key updates to provide.
First, the design for the public art piece by artist Kipp Kobayashi was showcased. The art had been previously unveiled to the Mountlake Terrace Arts Commission last month.
According to Howard Fitzpatrick, architecture consultant for Sound Transit, Kobayashi was inspired by the idea of connectiveness. A tree will be inscribed into earth-toned metal areas of the station crossing over 236th Street Southwest, connecting those on the ground to nature. The tree also connects the two sides of 236th Street Southwest, creating a gateway into Mountlake Terrace.
“There is a tactile quality to it,” Fitzpatrick said.
The station overall maintains much of the same design as was revealed in the 2017 open house. At basement level will be a small room inaccessible to the public and will contain machinery and equipment. The ground level will be the main area, split into a north side and a south side. Both sides will contain ticket vending machines, stairs and an elevator. The north side will also contain public restrooms, bicycle storage lockers and bike racks.
The signature colors for the station are an earth-toned brown, green and blue, to keep with natural feel and theme of connectiveness, Project Director Fred Wilhelm said.
Sound Transit is also working with the City of Mountlake Terrace to construct a temporary parking lot and bus loop on 59th Place West, just east of the Transit Center.
After the presentation, those in attendance were invited to tour the room, where poster boards were set up with renderings of the future station, diagrams of the rail route and further details about the project.
Rail service from the station is expected to begin in 2024.
To view more details from the open house, provide feedback and to view dates and locations for future open houses, click this link.
–Story and photos by Natalie Covate
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