Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel

Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel

The southbound portal at Westlake station
Overview
Other name(s)	Metro Bus Tunnel
Line	Central Link King County Metro: 41, 74, 101, 102, 150, 255 Sound Transit Express: 550
Location	Seattle, Washington
System	Sound Transit Link light rail, Sound Transit Express, King County Metro
Start	9th Avenue and Pine Street
End	5th Avenue S and S Jackson Street
No. of stations	5
Operation
Work begun	March 6, 1987 (1987-03-06)
Opened	September 15, 1990 (1990-09-15)
Rebuilt	2005–2007
Reopened	September 24, 2007 (2007-09-24)
Owner	King County Metro
Operator	King County Metro, Sound Transit
Traffic	Light rail, bus
Technical
Length	1.3 miles (2.1 km)
No. of tracks	Double
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrified	1,500 V DC, Overhead catenary
Operating speed	30 mph (48 km/h)
Width	18 ft (5.5 m)
Route map
Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel Interstate 5 North Convention Place Central Link to University of Washington Westlake University Street Pioneer Square International District/Chinatown Interstate 90 East SODO Busway to Interstate 5 South Central Link to Angle Lake  Key  bus/rail tunnel station bus only station This diagram:

The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), also referred to as the Metro Bus Tunnel, is a 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km) pair of tunnels for public transit that run north–south under 3rd Avenue through Downtown Seattle, Washington from 9th Avenue and Pike Street to 5th Avenue South and South Jackson Street. The tunnel was used only by buses from its opening in 1990 until 2005, and since 2009 it has been shared by buses and light rail. The double-track tunnel and its stations, with the exception of Convention Place, constitute parts of the Central Link light rail line, which continues north to University of Washington station and south through the Rainier Valley to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport as part of Sound Transit's Link light rail network. All five of its stations are also served by buses from King County Metro and Sound Transit Express that leave the tunnel north via Interstate 5, south via the SODO Busway, or east via Interstate 90. The DSTT is the busiest section of the Link light rail network, with an average of over 10,000 weekday boardings. It is owned by King County Metro and shared with Sound Transit, having signed a joint-operating agreement after ownership was transferred back to King County in 2002. The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel is one of two rail-bus tunnels in the United States, alongside the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, the DSTT is the only rail-bus tunnel in the United States with stations, as the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel lacks stations.