Ellington

Local residents voiced concern about noise levels from the upcoming UW Light Rail station construction at a community meeting Wednesday.

The UW portion of the 3.15 mile project to build an underground light-rail system from Husky Stadium to Capitol Hill will begin excavation next month.

Sound Transit Community Outreach specialist Jeff Munnoch said that construction walls will be extended in order to reduce the amount of noise, dust and debris from the construction site.

“There will be three noise monitors in place to make sure that we stay within compliance at all times,” Munnoch said.

Munnoch added that during major events, such as Commencement and the Windermere Cup, the amount of construction work will be lessened as per contract with the university.

“There will be no hauling and trucking during peak hours,” said construction manager Miles Haupt.

The Husky Stadium station project will involve altering the Montlake plaza to accommodate more pedestrians and creating protected walkways across Montlake Boulevard East.

The station itself will have facilities for bicycle storage, the majority of which will be covered. There are no current plans for parking space at the station.

The eastern sidewalk on Montlake Boulevard East is due to close from May 8 until early June due to excavation for the construction.

“Pedestrians and cyclists will be directed to a different route,” Haupt said.

The UW Light Rail station will join 13 other stations placed throughout the city, from the university to Sea-Tac Airport.

The project will allow passengers to travel to Westlake in six minutes and to Capitol Hill in three minutes. The station is anticipated to begin operating in 2016 and will not be the last light-rail station in the U-District.

“Voters in 2008 approved expanding our system to the northeast and south … we will expand north with a new station at Brooklyn [Avenue Northeast] and [Northeast] 45th [Street], and another station at the Roosevelt neighborhood,” said Bruce Gray, Media Relations specialist for Sound Transit.

Reach contributing writer Daniel Burnett at news@dailyuw.com.

*The original article was corrected to clarify that the project is 3.15 miles long, and does not cost $3.15 million.