page_title: Capitol Hill station
section_title: Construction and opening
hierarchical_section_title: Capitol Hill station / History / Construction and opening
caption_attribution_description: English: View of tunnels into Capitol Hill Link Station, Seattle, Washington, under construction. Camera facing south from pedestrian walkway on northern edge of site.
context_page_description: Capitol Hill is a light rail station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is served by Sound Transit's Link light rail system and is located near the intersection of Broadway and East John Street. It is situated between the Westlake and University of Washington stations on Line 1. The station consists of an island platform approximately 65 feet under street level, connected to three surface entrances via two mezzanines. It contains pieces of public art, including Mike Ross's sculpture Jet Kiss and two murals by cartoonist Ellen Forney.
  Capitol Hill had been proposed as the site of a subway stop in unimplemented plans from 1911 and 1968, but voter approval did not come until 1996. It was built as part of the University Link Extension, which began construction in 2009 and opened on March 19, 2016. Construction of the station required the demolition of two city blocks along Broadway, which will be redeveloped into a transit-oriented, mixed-use complex in 2020. Light rail trains serve the station twenty hours a day on most days; the headway between trains is six minutes during peak periods, with less frequent service at other times.
context_section_description: The Capitol Hill station's design was finalized in 2007 and 2008, during a series of public hearings and meetings with the city's design commission. Businesses and residents at the station site were moved after Sound Transit acquired properties in 2008. The vacant buildings were filled temporarily with pieces of art coordinated by Sound Transit. Salvaging and recycling of materials in the vacant buildings began in late 2008, including a community event to remove small plants for re-planting by neighborhood residents; approximately 90 percent of material was recycled, and proceeds from the sale of scrap metal were used to provide hot meals for the homeless. Demolition of buildings on the station site began in March 2009, shortly before the formal groundbreaking for the University Link project, and was completed by August. Among the 20 demolished buildings were a three-story apartment building, a used book store, the Espresso Vivace coffee shop, a nail salon, and a copy shop. Many of the displaced and nearby businesses moved to the northern end of the Broadway district during construction, relying on mitigation funds from Sound Transit and the neighborhood's chamber of commerce.
  Preparation work for station construction began in January 2010, with the closure of East Denny Way and the installation of a construction wall around the site. The 24-foot-high (7.3 m) wall was painted red and adorned with public artwork by local street artists over the course of the five-year construction period. Excavation of the station box began in July, and reached the future platform level in December. In June 2011, the first of three tunnel boring machines, named "Brenda", was launched from Capitol Hill toward Westlake station in Downtown Seattle. A separate pair of machines, "Balto" and "Togo", were launched from University of Washington station at the same time and arrived at Capitol Hill station in March and April 2012. Brenda completed the twin tunnels to downtown in May 2012.
  In October 2012, Turner Construction was awarded the $105 million construction contract to build and finish Capitol Hill station's interior and entrances. Turner began interior construction in March 2013, using a steel PERI truss and movable concrete form system to pour concrete for station elements. Construction on the west entrance and its cut and cover tunnel under Broadway required the street to be closed and rearranged several times beginning in November 2013. By the summer of 2015, work on Capitol Hill station was declared 90 percent complete, and the construction wall was gradually removed.
  Capitol Hill station, along with University of Washington station, opened to the public six months early on March 19, 2016, during a community celebration that drew 67,000 people. As part of the inauguration of the new tunnel, local dignitaries rode a train from University of Washington station to Capitol Hill. There Mayor Ed Murray and First Man Michael Shiosaki pulled a ceremonial cord to open the station. The celebration included festivities at street level, including an open-air market, live music, an expo pavilion, and a food truck stand on East Denny Way. Over a thousand pieces of the former construction wall, known as the "Red Wall", were cut by Seattle Central College students and offered to light rail riders who visited local businesses.
caption: The excavated station box and poured concrete floor, seen in late 2012
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