Check Out Bel-Red Light Rail Design at Thursday Open House

The Bel-Red segment of Sound Transit's East Link light rail will be the topic at a Thursday open house at the Highland Community Center in Bellevue.

Sound Transit's East Link is slated to connect Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond to Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport via light rail by 2023.

The area that will be the focus of this open house focuses is generally bounded by Bel-Red Road on the south, SR-520 on the north, 116th Avenue Northeast on the west, and 140th Avenue Northeast on the east. It also includes two stations planned at 120th Avenue Northeast and 130th Avenue Northeast along the future Northeast 15th /Northeast 16th Street.

The regional rail system is designed to stretch more than 50 miles, after the work to extend existing service north and south in addition to east. Sound Transit says that more than 50,000 riders are projected to ride East Link every day by 2030.

Sound Transit issued the following information about the upcoming event:

East Link Bel-Red Open House
4-7 p.m. Thursday, March 28 - Presentation at 5:30 p.m.
Highland Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue

East Link's final design process will move the project's design from a current level of approximately 30 percent to 100 percent completion before the planned launch of construction in 2015. The process will offer many opportunities for residents, neighborhood organizations, property owners and businesses to get involved. Open houses will offer opportunities for community members to learn about, and comment on, designs and permanent station names, and more.

East Link will dramatically improve public transit access to and from locations in East King County, with light rail providing fast and reliable service. A trip from Bellevue Transit Center to downtown Seattle will take 20 minutes regardless of roadway congestion. A trip to Overlake Transit Center will take 10 minutes and a trip to the airport 55 minutes.