Sound Transit Board
Sound Transit Board Meetings
C-Link Task Force and Executive Committee
Friday August 3rd, 2001Notes by John Deeter
C-LINK TASK FORCE
Attending: McIver (chair), Earling, Enslow, Gates.
Public Comment
Warren Yee: supports building Beacon Hill station [along with tunnel construction, rather than just the shell].
Grant Cogswell: monorail alternative will achieve more for less money [than Link light rail].
Sea-Tac Airport station
Joe Gilner [Link staff]: a number of access issues to the Airport require working with State DOT as well as the Airport. Staff currently looking at station located adjacent to new north terminal ("NEAT"). Gates: City of Sea-Tac is also a partner [with Link]. Gilner: in the last week ST staff held briefings for [officials of] the cities of Sea-Tac and Tukwila.
Dave Kalberer [Sea-Tac Airport]: [some time ago] it was decided Link service to existing terminal was not possible. Describes new terminal (NEAT) north of existing terminal, [will replace freight service facilities]. New terminal will require moving access roadways to the east, [onto an existing parking lot]. Will need to excavate about 70 feet deep into a slope and build a retaining wall adjacent to the cemetery. [Airport proposes that] Link be built over the new access road, and the two projects should be done at the same time. NEAT project includes a new people-mover [to link the two terminals and other airport facilities]. Airport expects 40 percent of activity to transfer to new terminal. The budget of NEAT is expected to be about $3 billion.
Dave (??) [Airport staff]: expect to start scoping for new terminal next year, followed by a 2-year EIS process. Final design not yet funded, Airport generally works on a year-to-year [budget] basis. [Construction] funding not yet in place, it will take about a decade to build the terminal. Need to continue to discuss details of including Link [station in the NEAT project] with ST.
Enslow: is terminal linked with third runway? Kalberer: No. Enslow: will NEAT move forward without the third runway? Kalberer: it's very unlikely that third runway will not be built, but if this happens Airport may [will?] not need NEAT. Currently [Airport] is assuming that third runway will go ahead. Enslow: thinks Link should run from somewhere to somewhere, [linking two centers such as] Sea-Tac Airport and Downtown Seattle. Will Airport [station] be ready in 2008? Kalberer: [current plans are to] start construction in 2004, finish in 2014. [Link] may require interim station for a time before 2014. Enslow: how would [an interim station] work -- would people have to "step in mud"? Kalberer: hope to have people-mover available, or bus people to main terminal as a lesser alternative, or bus from 154th station might be better. Talked to Earl yesterday, [and got information about ST's plans about federal funding]. Airport [staff] can't help convince FTA that station will be available by 2009. [Recommends that Airport station] should not be in the [pending] FFGA. Can't [even] be sure of timeline until midway through the EIS process.
Earling: [ST Board should have at least quarterly updates on NEAT status.] [Someone]: jokes that this would be a "meeting of the four Daves".
Montlake borings
Ron Lewis [Link staff]: five borings will be done in the Montlake area.
Gilner: need to get evidence [of composition] of upper soils to add to available historical data. Want to see if a shallower tunnel [is possible]. Expected to take 3-5 days per hole, some results may be back by 9/27. Gates: any [community] reaction to borings? Lewis: briefing of Montlake Community Club about scope, duration, etc. Handing out information -- leaflets and doorbelling.
Earling: what are we going to learn from [just] five holes? Gilner: looking for better soil conditions for an alternative route [to Portage Bay]. [Borings should] increase our confidence level that a shallow tunnel is feasible. Will need more holes if this alignment is looked at more seriously. Earling: how much more [effort] to cost out Montlake, and compare to Portage Bay costs? Gilner: [will soon have] order-of-magnitude cost estimate, [hoping to see] reduced risk compared to Portage Bay and reduced costs in U District due to shallower stations. But shallower tunnel may mean greater impacts on UW. McIver: Will cut and cover stations mean more mitigation? [Retorical question].
Enslow: [doesn't think deep stations are that bad, impressed by rapid access by elevator in Portland station. Are there really big] advantages in a shallower tunnel? Gilner: costs [should be less], and concerns about security and fire-life-safety [should be reduced]. Ventilation [will be easier].
Beacon Hill station
Mike Williams [Link staff]: [current plan] is for a central shaft, 150 deep to top-of-rail. Single shaft has a larger footprint, and need to acquire more property -- about an acre. [Still need] two vents, some distance apart. Four years to build station. [Looking at] two possible staging sites -- El Centro parking lot or entire lot south of Lander St.
Enslow: is this "taking" [of the entire lot] at all unusual? Williams: long time resident [40-plus years?] also owns business [Chinese restaurant] on lot.
McIver: cost comparison of partial or full build out? Williams: both will be priced, assuming a single shaft. McIver: [Board] needs information [well] ahead of time. Amhad (??) [Link staff]: ridership and cost estimates will be available, [also] willing to give briefings after Board meeting.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Attending: Earling (chair), McIver, Gates, Sims (late). [Need six members for a quorum.]
Public comment. Paul Locke: comments on 6-year plan, thinks service revenues will be necessary to support systems. Phil Grega: thinks BNSF could use [spoils from tunnels and the Airport] as fill for route north to Everett.
Governance Task Force. Gates: implementation of new committee structure [should be defered] to 1/1/02. Sullivan may write a report [protesting plan to kill] TOD committee. Earling: [because of lack of quorum, matter is] moved to September meeting.
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