Routing
On May 14, 2009, the Sound Transit board decided on a preferred route for East Link, and in July 2011, they selected a project to be built. From the International District/Chinatown Station, trains will travel on existing ramps to the Interstate 90 express lanes from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, possibly in mixed traffic with buses. Currently, the I-90 express lanes carry vehicle traffic (both single-occupant vehicles and High-occupancy vehicles (HOV)), but will be modified to serve only trains, and an all-day HOV lane will be added to each direction of the I-90 bridge. The trains will use the center roadway from Seattle through the Mount Baker Tunnel, across Lake Washington and Mercer Island to South Bellevue. Trains will turn and head north from I-90 along Bellevue Way and 112th, before cutting across to Main and I-405. In Downtown Bellevue, the trains will go through a tunnel underneath 110th, a plan that the board decided upon in July 2011. From there, trains will head east at NE 12th street past Overlake Hospital through the Bel-Red industrial area along NE 16th street. In the Overlake neighborhood, trains will connect with State Route 520 and head north towards Downtown Redmond and Redmond Town Center.
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