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Seattle-area and Washington photos

Started by Bruce, May 21, 2014, 06:51:07 PM

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Bruce



mrsman


jakeroot

Quote from: mrsman on February 20, 2018, 08:40:23 PM
See the following:

https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2g.htm

Well, shit. I know that WashDOT uses their own state supplement (in addition to the federal MUTCD), but they definitely haven't made any attempt to use green guide signs for HOV-only exits. Perhaps out state supplement requires white HOV signs? No way to know, since AFAIK WashDOT doesn't publish their supplement online.


jakeroot

Awesome photos Bruce! It's amazing how much Seattle has grown in the last ten years.

I really need to venture up to the Columbia Center observation center on a clear day. That's one hell of a view.

Roadster

#105
Just finished going through this thread.....WOW & AWESOME!

Seattle!......what a beautiful city with it's gorgeous views.

Thank you for posting and sharing.

Bruce

Quote from: jakeroot on March 28, 2018, 01:51:04 AM
Awesome photos Bruce! It's amazing how much Seattle has grown in the last ten years.

I really need to venture up to the Columbia Center observation center on a clear day. That's one hell of a view.

The observation deck is a really nice place to hang out. Tickets are good for all day (until close at 8 pm), so you can drop in multiple times and enjoy midday and sunset/night views.

There's also the free skylobby next door at the Municipal Tower, which is quiet and has a great view of I-5 / I-90 / the traffic monster.

Bruce

My long-awaited photo tour of the active East Link construction sites in Bellevue, Redmond, and Mercer Island is finally here. Almost all of them taken on March 16, from a rideshare bike I brought to Redmond and rode all the way back to Downtown Bellevue (a distance of 7 miles).

Redmond Technology Center (Overlake TC)


Redmond Technology Center station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Overlake Transit Center temporary bays by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Light rail construction along SR 520 in Overlake by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Overlake Village


Overlake Village station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Overlake Village station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Bel-Red/130th

(Taken before the new girders went up)


East Link viaduct over Kelsey Creek by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Spring District/120th


Spring District/120th station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Spring District/120th station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Spring District/120th station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Spring District/120th station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Spring District/120th station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Wilburton


Wilburton station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Wilburton station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Bellevue Downtown (Bellevue TC)


Bellevue Downtown station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link crossing of I-405 under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link crossing of I-405 under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


ST Express bus and East Link construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr

South Bellevue


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


South Bellevue station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link and Downtown Bellevue skyline by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Mercer Island


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station under construction, March 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Bruce

Amazon's new Seattle headquarters campus has three giant glass domes that house a few thousand tropical plants. It's a giant employee lounge that is open to the public on a very limited basis (at least for now), but I was lucky enough to get a tour through the official headquarters tour.


Amazon Spheres from Day 1 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Amazon Spheres from Doppler by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Amazon Spheres from Doppler by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Birds' nest inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


View from inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Humidity control inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Humidity control inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Plant label inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Amazon Tower III from inside the Amazon Spheres by SounderBruce, on Flickr

nexus73

Those glass domes have a Star Trek-like look to them in my eyes.  The future is here!

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

Bruce

Took a short trip to photograph some light rail progress in North Seattle and Downtown Bellevue on Monday.

Northgate station

All of the columns and girders have been placed for the elevated guideway between the Maple Leaf portal and the tail tracks north of the station. The station's mezzanine is being formed and the garage is up to the second above-street level.


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Northgate station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Roosevelt station

The mezzanine level is now covered in concrete and scaffolding, and work is progressing up to street level.


Roosevelt station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Roosevelt station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

U District station

Not much to report here, other than a few new steel forms for above-mezzanine structures (maybe the stairway/escalators?). I'd love to get a better view from UW Tower, if anyone has a good corner window...


U District station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Bellevue Downtown station

The Bellevue SEM tunnel is about 70 percent complete and should hole through to the north portal pretty soon. The curve and a restored extension of the City Hall parking garage/plaza have been prepared while the station box hasn't changed much from March. A new steel bridge has appeared over I-405, but it doesn't quite look like it could be for light rail tracks...a few people have speculated that it's for workers accessing the underside of the actual bridge, but I'm not sure myself.


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Wilburton station

Concrete for the northern columns has been poured, while rebar cages have gone up at the site of the actual station. The columns carrying the elevated to at-grade transition along the Eastside Rail Corridor have also been in place for a while.


Wilburton station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Spring District/120th station

Forms for the station walls are in place, while the excavated areas are covered in black tarps. Girders have appeared on the bridge that will carry East Link trains over the Kelsey Creek watershed.


Spring District station construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue light rail construction, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Spring District from Downtown Bellevue, April 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Bruce

A few photos taken in Overlake and South Bellevue/Mercer Island on Thursday.

Overlake TC (Redmond Tech Center)

The crane for the parking garage is up, though it wasn't fully complete when I came to visit it on Thursday morning.


Redmond Tech Center station under construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link construction in Overlake Village area by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Overlake Village

More columns along SR 520, including the crossing over 148th Avenue.


East Link construction in Overlake Village area by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Future site of Overlake Village station by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link crossing of 148th Avenue by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link crossing of 148th Avenue by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Surrey Downs

Work on the tunnel continues, along with grading work near the Surrey Downs Park.


East Link south tunnel portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link construction in Surrey Downs by SounderBruce, on Flickr


East Link construction in Surrey Downs by SounderBruce, on Flickr

South Bellevue

Columns are up all the way to the I-90 express lanes and the Winters House is wrapped in protective cover while its front yard is prepared for trench work.

South Bellevue station under construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Light rail columns in South Bellevue by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Winters House during East Link construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Mercer Island

The elevator shaft/core at the west entrance is finished and its connection to the platform is being poured. The east entrance (which seems to have the station's ancillary rooms) is much further behind.


Mercer Island station west entrance by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Concrete pouring at Mercer Island station by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station east entrance under construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station west entrance by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station east entrance under construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Mercer Island station east entrance under construction by SounderBruce, on Flickr

mrsman

Fantastic pictures Bruce.  I notice a lot of support structures and bridges for the under-construction segments of the light rail.  Are all of the new segments going to be fully grade separated?

jakeroot

Quote from: mrsman on May 15, 2018, 08:20:26 PM
Fantastic pictures Bruce.  I notice a lot of support structures and bridges for the under-construction segments of the light rail.  Are all of the new segments going to be fully grade separated?

I believe all segments except for a portion east of Bellevue. No idea why the plan isn't for 100% grade-separation. It would allow much easier automation in the future. Adding another at-grade section just seems backwards.

mrsman

#114
Quote from: jakeroot on May 15, 2018, 11:22:02 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 15, 2018, 08:20:26 PM
Fantastic pictures Bruce.  I notice a lot of support structures and bridges for the under-construction segments of the light rail.  Are all of the new segments going to be fully grade separated?

I believe all segments except for a portion east of Bellevue. No idea why the plan isn't for 100% grade-separation. It would allow much easier automation in the future. Adding another at-grade section just seems backwards.

The reason is money.  Plus, the section along MLK is already at grade.

They should've taken advice from their neighbor up north.  The biggest costs in operating transit is labor.  They could have frequent 24 hour driverless service like Vancouver.

jakeroot

Quote from: mrsman on May 16, 2018, 07:32:57 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on May 15, 2018, 11:22:02 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 15, 2018, 08:20:26 PM
Fantastic pictures Bruce.  I notice a lot of support structures and bridges for the under-construction segments of the light rail.  Are all of the new segments going to be fully grade separated?

I believe all segments except for a portion east of Bellevue. No idea why the plan isn't for 100% grade-separation. It would allow much easier automation in the future. Adding another at-grade section just seems backwards.

The reason is money.  Plus, the section along MLK is already at grade.

They should've taken advice from their neighbor up north.  The biggest costs in operating transit is labor.  They could have frequent 24 hour driverless service like Vancouver.

They asked voters for $51B+ a couple years ago. Hard to believe they couldn't budget an additional short grade-separated section into that proposal.

Full automation will be harder while Sound Transit continues to add additional at-grade sections beyond MLK. ST plans to move forward with automation to some degree, but I'm not sure of the details of that plan.

Bruce


Bruce

Quote from: jakeroot on May 16, 2018, 09:29:49 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 16, 2018, 07:32:57 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on May 15, 2018, 11:22:02 PM
Quote from: mrsman on May 15, 2018, 08:20:26 PM
Fantastic pictures Bruce.  I notice a lot of support structures and bridges for the under-construction segments of the light rail.  Are all of the new segments going to be fully grade separated?

I believe all segments except for a portion east of Bellevue. No idea why the plan isn't for 100% grade-separation. It would allow much easier automation in the future. Adding another at-grade section just seems backwards.

The reason is money.  Plus, the section along MLK is already at grade.

They should've taken advice from their neighbor up north.  The biggest costs in operating transit is labor.  They could have frequent 24 hour driverless service like Vancouver.

They asked voters for $51B+ a couple years ago. Hard to believe they couldn't budget an additional short grade-separated section into that proposal.

Full automation will be harder while Sound Transit continues to add additional at-grade sections beyond MLK. ST plans to move forward with automation to some degree, but I'm not sure of the details of that plan.

Link is already fairly automated, with drivers relying on the industry-standard automatic train protection mode, with the driver in primary control but the computer as a backup/failsafe. This system can't be used on the street segments, though, which hinders automation.

We're lucky that Bellevue agreed to pay for the tunnel, otherwise we'd have at-grade trains through Downtown Bellevue. The at-grade segment along Spring Blvd/136th isn't too bad, since there's only five or so crossings in total, but could have been elevated instead.

Bruce


nexus73

The last pix reminds me of a SimCity game.  Cool job once again Bruce!

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

Bruce

I got taken on a tour of the freshly-excavated Bellevue tunnel earlier today. The tunnel runs for one-third of a mile and was excavated with SEM (rather than TBMs) over a 15-month period. It will carry East Link trains under 110th Avenue in downtown Bellevue, having been part-funded by the city after years of debate.

Here's a few photos to tide you over until I write up my blog post.


Bellevue Tunnel south portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel south portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel interior by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel excavation by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel north portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel north portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel north portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Tunnel north portal by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Bellevue Downtown Station excavation by SounderBruce, on Flickr

jakeroot

Just like how Center City-goers are able to take advantage of the downtown bus tunnel today (to a degree), and probably can't imagine a time when it wasn't there, future generations will ride through downtown Bellevue without giving it a second thought. Yet, here we are, watching it go up (or down, as it were).

Dammit I love infrastructure.

Looking forward to your STB article. You always put together a good read.

Bruce

Convention Place Station, the northern terminus of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, was closed permanently on July 21, 2018, to make way for the expanded convention center.

Took a few photos on Saturday, and it's amazing how fast they're doing it:


Convention Place platform demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Convention Place platform demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Convention Place platform demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Convention Place platform demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Convention Place platform demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Convention Place platform demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Convention Place plaza demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Bruce

Demolition work at the future Lynnwood City Center Station has begun.

First up: the McDonald's Furniture Store.


Lynnwood Station demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Lynnwood Station demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Lynnwood Station demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Lynnwood Station demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Up next: the Black Angus.


Lynnwood Station demolition by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Plutonic Panda

Shouldn't these photos be in the mass transit section?



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