Riding the train across the Seattle area including Capitol Hill Station will also take on a whole new dimension.
The milestone marks what will be a full transformation of the network into a two-line system — the original 1 Line serving the city and its north-south neighbors, and now the added 2 Line connecting Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond. It will also start service on the world’s first light rail on a floating bridge.
Saturday, Sound Transit will finally debut cross-lake trains on its new line connecting Seattle to the Eastside via Judkins Park Station. The roughly $3.8 billion “East Link Extension” arrives years late, delayed by construction screw-ups and logistical complications. Buried somewhere in those billions are the millions it cost to complete the stop at Judkins Park, hoped to soon be a launch point for 3,000 riders a day — and a destination for more.
Unlike Capitol Hill Station — which debuted 10 years ago this month above Broadway — Judkins Park Station won’t be surrounded by development and new apartments.
The 1451 23rd Ave S light rail facility was designed to wedge into the lid of I-90 across from Jimi Hendrix Park and the Northwest African American Museum. Riders from 23rd Ave will drop down to the station platform along I-90 where the railway has joined the freeway. Riders can also enter the station from “below” from an entry plaza on Rainier Ave S.
The station’s top area is rich with parks as the land over and around the I-90 Lid was divided into Judkins Park, Jimi Hendrix Park, and Sam Smith Park.
Seattle Parks is working with Central District partners to plan a $2.3 million upgrade of Judkins Park just north of the station. The large park on the southwest end of the Central District is popular for everything from team sports to protests. Its large skate rink gets heavy use for activities including roller dance and bike polo.
Other changes for the area are hoped to mesh with the new light rail service. Metro is making spring service updates it says will help better coordinate the bus system with the new 2 Line service. Route 8 will “provide a direct connection to the new Judkins Park Station,” Metro says, by shifting its path from MLK Way South to 23rd Ave S between E Yesler Way and S Massachusetts.
Judkins Park Station and its Hendrix inspired design has been mostly complete and ready for riders as the rest of the new line was delayed for years over issues including a defective track bed that had to be rebuilt twice.
As it was being engineered, the station was one of the most complex Sound Transit had tackled. Entrances are located at Rainier and 23rd which includes an entry point for cyclists and pedestrians coming off the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trail.
New Jersey-based artist Hank Willis Thomas contributed the Jimi Hendrix murals on two outdoor elevator shafts at the station. Artwork from local artist Barbara Earl Thomas is featured inside the station.
A new station on Mercer Island is also part of the weekend’s celebrations.
Judkins Park Station and the new 2 Line will make Capitol Hill Station even busier.
1 Line and 2 Line trains will “interline” between Lynnwood and the International District, doubling frequency at Capitol Hill Station during peak hours. You will see a 1 Line or 2 Line train roughly every four minutes at Capitol Hill Station. If you are headed downtown or to the International District, you can pick any train you like. Headed beyond Chinatown? Take 1 to go south, 2 for east. Judkins Park Station should be about 10 minutes away.
In all, the 2 Line is expected to carry about 50,000 daily riders.
The math for Judkins Park Station riders will vary as they work out the mental gymnastics around the interline setup. A ride to Sea-Tac Airport, for example, will be about 40 minutes with the required transfer to the 1 Line in the ID.
Saturday’s celebrations come as planned expansions of light rail in Seattle face uncertain futures. CHS reported here on Sound Transit cost-cutting approaches that would “defer” planned light rail to Ballard and West Seattle over soaring costs.
Don’t let those worries ruin the party. Saturday’s festivities will begin at 9 AM with a ribbon cutting and street fair in nearby Sam Smith Park followed by the first train from Judkins Park Station at 10 AM. A day of community events and celebration is planned along the 2 Line at International District/Chinatown, Judkins Park, Mercer Island and South Bellevue stations.
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