Sept. 24, 2007
Bus riders delighted with tunnel reopening
Metro's Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel reopened at 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 24, much to the delight of bus passengers.
"It's great to have the tunnel back," said one Bellevue passenger as he deboarded at Westlake Station early Monday.
The tunnel had been closed for two years while Sound Transit retrofitted it for joint operation of buses and light rail. The bus service began Sept. 24, and light rail will arrive in 2009.
In the days leading up to the tunnel opening, Metro employees swarmed the streets offering assistance to bus riders. The "street teaming" efforts included 318 separate shifts at 54 locations throughout downtown Seattle. More than 240 employees from Metro, the King County Department of Transportation, and Sound Transit volunteered to hand out information about the bus route changes and new timetables, and assist bus riders with a wide variety of questions. With the training and set up, it worked out to about 1,000 hours of street teaming over the past week.
There are also several "Plan Your Commute" sessions being offered over the next two weeks. Metro staff will help you find your best travel options whether by bus, train, carpool, vanpool, or bike. They will provide you with the tools to get you started, and special rewards for trying new travel options. Visit the Tools to Keep You Moving website for more details.
The tunnel has been a big favorite with bus passengers for almost two decades. In the 1980s, the tunnel was conceived by Metro as a way to reduce congestion in the city's core and move bus riders more quickly through downtown. Many naysayers were skeptical, but once the tunnel opened on Sept. 15, 1990 people saw for themselves what a great way it was to keep downtown moving.
The tunnel is 1.3 miles long, and starts on the sound end in the International District/Chinatown underneath Fifth Avenue South and South Jackson Street (see map). For much of its length it travels below Third Avenue, but takes a jog to the east near Pine Street to end up at Ninth Avenue and Pine. Along the way, there are five tunnel stations: International District (IDS); Pioneer Square; University Street; Westlake; and Convention Place (CPS).
After the two-year closure, everyone is curious to use the tunnel again. Many things are still the same. The stations are still large and easy to access from the surface with multiple entrances. The celebrated tunnel artwork is still there, with a different theme for each station. The ride is still free, and all buses still stop at every station.