Beacon Hill tunnel (Seattle)
{{short description|Rail tunnels in Seattle, Washington, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox tunnel
|name = Beacon Hill tunnel
|image = Sound Transit Light Link Rail Beacon Hill West Portal.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Tunnel's west portal under an elevated portion of Interstate 5
|location = Seattle, Washington
|coordinates = {{coord|47.577|N|122.320|W|display=inline,title|type:landmark}}
|status = Active
|start = SoDo, Seattle, Washington
|end = Rainier Valley, Seattle, Washington near Mount Baker station
|owner = Sound Transit
|traffic = Link light rail (1 Line)
|construction = 2005–2009
|length = {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|height = {{convert|21|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|width = {{convert|21|ft|m|abbr=on}}
}}
Beacon Hill tunnel is a public transit tunnel in Seattle, Washington, carrying light rail trains on the 1 Line under Seattle's Beacon Hill between Rainier Valley and SoDo just east of Interstate 5. The Beacon Hill Link Light Rail station is approximately {{convert|160|ft|m}} underground near the midpoint of the tunnel.
Construction
Construction of the tunnel began in March 2005 and was completed in July 2009. Obayashi Corporation was the general contractor. The twin running tunnels were excavated with a tunnel boring machine (TBM) built by Mitsubishi, named the "Emerald Mole."{{cite web|publisher=Pacific Builder and Engineer |title=Inside the Emerald Mole|author=Carl Molesworth|date=June 5, 2006|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/software-services-applications-internet-social/6263560-1.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214215414/http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/software-services-applications-internet-social/6263560-1.html|archivedate=2008-02-14}} The station and crossover tunnels were constructed using the sequential excavation method (SEM), also known as the New Austrian tunnelling method (NATM).{{cite web|publisher=DJC|title=Sound Transit digs a cutting-edge tunnel|url=http://www.djc.com/news/co/11176943.html|accessdate=2009-09-17}}
Several workers were injured and one was killed during construction of the tunnel.{{citation|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Worker-killed-in-Sound-Transit-tunnel-1227682.php|title=Worker killed in Sound Transit tunnel: Second accident in three months at light rail site|author=Levi Pulkkinen|author2=Larry Lange|date=February 7, 2007|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}}
The tunnel was completed at a cost of $309 million, versus Obayashi's bid of $280 million.{{citation|title=Sightline Report: Cost Overruns For Seattle-Area Tunnel Projects |author=Eric de Place |publisher=Sightline Institute |date=October 2009 |url=http://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/02/tunnel_report.pdf |accessdate=2013-04-04 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
References
{{Commons category|Beacon Hill Tunnel (Seattle, Washington)}}
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{{Bridges of Seattle}}
Category:Railroad tunnels in Seattle
Category:Tunnels completed in 2009