Sound Transit Can Still Mitigate East Link Debacle.

The December 8th Sound Transit email “East Link Extension Project Update” continues the Link debacle with an “East Link opening timeframe update”.  It refers to a blog post by CEO Julie Timm detailing their current response to Sound Transit hiring a construction company that failed to properly install light rail tracks.  A failure Sound Transit first acknowledged with the following in the April Agency Progress Report:   

Contract E130-- Seattle to South Bellevue:  

Current Progress                                                                                                 West Segment:  Progress non-conforming tract direct fixation concrete plinth remediation                                                                                                       Center Segment:  Progress non-conforming tract direct fixation concrete plinth remediation.                                                                                                         East Segment: progress non-conforming track direct fixation concrete plinth remediation.  

Schedule Summary                                                                                           Within the E130 contract schedule, the critical path is driven by track remediation scope and cathodic protection on the floating bridge  

That Next Period’s Activities for all three segments included “direct fixation plinth remediation”.  

Similar concerns were included in subsequent monthly progress reports with no indications of progress.  The Current Progress activity in the December 6th release of the October report continues with “ongoing non-conforming track remediation”.   The schedule summary “The contractor needs to correct non-conforming scopes of work” with no estimate of completion.  

Typical of Sound Transit they call the contractor's need to replace faulty track attachments as “non-conforming track direct fixation remediation”.  The December 8th CEO blog post refers to the contractor's flawed attachments as a “project construction challenge”.   

 The email details the need to “ensure the work performed does not damage the bridge structure”.  That Sound Transit needs to “inspect all the work” and the staff needs “increased training to ensure they understand the required tolerances and scopes of work being installed”.  Apparently concerned their contractor still needed Sound Transit to oversee the “remediation”.  Not much of a contractor “endorsement”.  

One would have thought an April Agency Progress Report problem would, by December, have some “remediation” date and a recommendation as to how to proceed.  Instead, the blog post update “Possible project opening timeframes” delays East Link from July 2023 to Spring 2025.  It suggests an East Link Starter Line in 2024, problems with the two sequencing options, and “the intention to ask the Board for direction as soon as January”.    

The bottom line is the need to redo track attachments will delay demonstrating Sound Transit should have never been allowed to install light rail tracks on I-90 Bridge.  However,  the delay also allows them to mitigate that debacle by using the delay to implement terminating East Link trains at Chinatown station.  

The entire Sound Transit service area would benefit.