Beacon Hill Station in operation

Exactly four years after excavation of the tunnels for the Beacon Hill Station began, Sound Transit celebrated the grand opening.

On July 18, 2009 officials from FTA, Sound Transit and the City of Seattle took part in the opening ceremony of Seattle's first line of the future light rail system. More than 90.000 riders joined them to experience the new service.
During the opening weekend they could enjoy free rides along the 14 mile Central Link Light Rail Train line between downtown Seattle and SeaTac International Airport with its 12 new stations.

With most of the line running at grade, many riders were excited about the 4,300 ft (1.3 km) section of twin bored running tunnels passing through Beacon Hill. This section also includes the deep underground Beacon Hill Station that was mined using the NATM/SEM construction method.
To date it is the deepest transit station platform and the deepest station excavated with the NATM/SEM construction method in soft ground in the United States.

Now completed and in operation riders will not see much of the actual tunnel work of the station anymore.
Midnight-blue porcelain ceilings with a series of suspended "Space Forms", artwork consisting of translucent and brightly colored, internally illuminated 3-D shapes characterize the Platform tunnels. Large video screens beam images from the Hubble Space Telescope and create a fascinating underground world, leaving riders speechless with surprise.

The Dr. G. Sauer Corp. took part during design and construction of this remarkable station project. As subconsultant for the Hatch Mott McDonald / Jacobs (HMMJ) Desgin Joint Venture, DSC was responsible for the SEM design of the station tunnels.
During construction DSC performed resident engineering services and supported the Construction Management Team with the NATM/SEM expertise required for this complex project.

Seatlle's Mayor Greg Nickels and Sound Transit like to see the enthusiasm of the people about becoming a light rail region and therefore continue efforts by pushing the light rail project into the next phase. Work for the next line is in progress. Construction on parts of the University link light rail extension has begun already.

Read more...

Please visit our Featured Projects section for more information on the Beacon Hill Station.

More news...

SEM Mining and TBM Tunneling progress at Sound Transit's Beacon Hill Station (published August 18, 2006)

DSC published papers...

Two Papers about the Beacon Hill Station were written by staff of the Dr. Sauer Corporation:

Benchmark for the Future: The Largest SEM Soft Ground Tunnels in the United States for the Beacon Hill Station in Seattle 
Jürgen Laubbichler, Dr. G. Sauer Corporation
Thomas Schwind, Dr. G. Sauer Corporation
Gerhard Urschitz, PE, Dr. G. Sauer Corporation 
  
SEM / NATM Design & Contracting Strategies
Joseph Gildner, PE, Sound Transit
Gerhard Urschitz, PE, Dr. G. Sauer Corporation