Transit customers should prepare for delays and longer travel times in downtown Seattle Saturday, Nov. 15, as the downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel temporarily closes for system upgrades.BusTunnel

Central Link light rail will not operate passenger service while Sound Transit implements system upgrades related to the planned 2016 implementation of University Link service.

All regular bus service that normally operates in the DSTT will operate instead via designated surface street routing and stops, and alternate shuttle bus service will be provided to serve Link stations and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
During the closure:

  • All downtown tunnel stations and all other Link stations will be closed.
  • Metro-operated Link Shuttle Route 97 will serve surface stops near Link stations in downtown Seattle, SODO and along Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.
  • Direct, non-stop service between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport on Nov. 15, ride the Pierce Transit-operated Route 97A:
    • From downtown Seattle: Westbound on Pine Street between Fourth and Third avenues at Macy’s.
    • From Sea-Tac Airport: Northbound on International Boulevard South just north of South 176th Street.
  • Metro bus routes 41, 71, 72, 73 & 255 heading toward Northgate, the University District or Kirkland respectively, will travel through downtown Seattle via Fourth Avenue and Olive Way; heading south into downtown Seattle they will travel via Second Avenue.
  • Metro routes 101, 106 and 150 heading to their south end destinations, and Sound Transit Route 550 to Bellevue, will travel through downtown Seattle via Stewart Street and Second Avenue; heading north into town they will travel via Fourth Avenue.
  • All SODO Busway service will operate via normal routes and stops.

Tunnel routes and the Link Shuttle Route 97 do not make all posted bus stops along their surface street routing. Visit Metro’s Service Advisories page to find out the routing and stops for specific routes.

For information about this project and Link light rail visit Sound Transit’s website.
Thank you for your patience during this temporary closure.