Mukilteo station

Mukilteo
Location	920 First Street Mukilteo, WA 98275
Coordinates	47°56′57″N 122°17′55″W / 47.94917°N 122.29861°WCoordinates: 47°56′57″N 122°17′55″W / 47.94917°N 122.29861°W
Owned by	Sound Transit
Line(s)	North Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	Washington State Ferries, Community Transit, Everett Transit
Construction
Parking	63 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	May 31, 2008
Services
Preceding station     Following station Edmonds toward Seattle North Line Everett Terminus

Mukilteo is a train station serving the city of Mukilteo, Washington. It is owned by Sound Transit, who runs the North Line of their Sounder commuter rail service through the station from Everett to King Street Station in Seattle. The station includes a parking lot with 63 spaces, as well as connections to nearby Washington State Ferries, Community Transit, and Everett Transit service on State Route 525. Mukilteo station opened in 2008 with a single side platform, later supplemented with a second platform and pedestrian overpass in 2016.

Description

Mukilteo station consists of a two side platforms, connected by a covered pedestrian overpass, sited along the BNSF Railway's Scenic Subdivision between Seattle and Everett. The station, located one block east of the Mukilteo ferry terminal on State Route 525, contains a 63-space park and ride lot with a drop-off area that is accessible through an entrance/exit from Front Street; the platform also houses a ticket vending machine and ORCA card readers.^[1]

Mukilteo is served by the eight daily Sounder trains on weekdays, running on the North Line along the Puget Sound between Everett Station and King Street Station in Seattle. The runs are split between four morning and four afternoon runs, with a single round-trip gameday service provided for weekend events at CenturyLink Field and Safeco Field.^[2][3] Train service on the corridor, which includes BNSF freight traffic and Amtrak passenger service, is frequently disrupted and canceled during the autumn and winter seasons because of landslides from unstable slopes above the tracks. During the 2012–2013 winter season, a record-high of 206 passenger trains between Everett and Seattle were canceled,^[4][5] prompting the Washington State Department of Transportation to begin a three-year landslide mitigation project in 2013 that will stabilize slopes above the railroad between Seattle and Everett.^[6][7]

The station is located one block east of the Washington State Ferries terminal, serving the Whidbey Island Ferry, which also functions as a transfer point for buses operated by Community Transit and Everett Transit: two all-day local buses connect Mukilteo to Lynnwood and Everett Station, while three peak-only commuter routes run to Downtown Seattle, the University of Washington, and the Boeing Everett Factory.^[8][9]

History

A commuter rail station in Mukilteo had been part of the original Sound Transit proposal rejected in 1995 and adopted the following year,^[10][11] as part of a Seattle–Everett line on the existing BNSF corridor.^[12] The agency selected the station site in 1999, choosing a platform east of State Route 525 and the Washington State Ferries terminal over one at Mukilteo Lighthouse Park because of concerns arising from existing parking and traffic issues in the area.^[13] A groundbreaking ceremony was held in August 2007 for the initial phase of the project, the northern side platform, as part of a multimodal transit hub built in conjunction with a new Mukilteo ferry terminal.^[14] The $19.2 million project, including preparations for a second phase to open in 2009,^[15] was funded by Sound Transit with a grant from the Federal Transit Administration.^[16] Sounder service from Mukilteo Station began on May 31, 2008, with a special weekend round-trip run to a Seattle Mariners game.^[17] The project was praised by local politicians for its multi-agency cooperation, especially between Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries.^[18]

Construction on the second platform, an island platform connected via a pedestrian overpass, began in January 2014 with the closure of Mukilteo Lane near the station.^[19] Part of the existing North Platform was closed for use as a staging area in March 2014, expanding and contracting before and after rush hour, respectively.^[20] The $11 million project,^[21] designed by AECOM and HNTB in 2012,^[22] was originally scheduled to be completed in 2015. Delays in construction, including state approval of the new elevators, pushed back the completion date to April 2016.^[23][24][25] As part of the STart program, a percentage of construction funds went towards installing art made by Whidbey Island resident Linda Beaumont at the station.^[26][27]

As part of the Mukilteo Multimodal Project, Sound Transit and the Washington State Department of Transportation are partnering to build a new ferry terminal on State Route 525 in Mukilteo. The preferred alternative, selected in 2013, will move the terminal closer to the existing station and include a new transit center for buses.^[28][29]

References

1. "Mukilteo Station". Sound Transit Rider Guide. Sound Transit. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
2. "Sounder Everett-Seattle Schedule". Sound Transit. June 9, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
3. "Weekend trains". Sound Transit. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
4. Lindblom, Mike (September 5, 2013). "Project aimed to stop landslides on rail tracks north of Seattle". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
5. Smelser, David, ed. (2014). "Landslide Impacts". Landslide Mitigation Action Plan (PDF) (Report). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Department of Transportation. pp. 6–10. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
6. Fiman, Alice; Thompson, Kevin F. (August 19, 2013). "Work starts on landslide solutions for Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor" (Press release). Olympia, Washington: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
7. Sheets, Bill (December 10, 2013). "Drier weather, projects have eased railway slide problems". The Everett Herald. Sound Publishing. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
8. "Public Transportation Serves Mukilteo". Community Transit. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
9. "Everett Transit Bus Schedule and Service Guide" (PDF). Everett Transit. August 24, 2014. pp. 57–59, 67–68. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
10. "The Regional Transit System Proposal" (PDF). Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority. February 1995. p. 9. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
11. Schaefer, David (November 6, 1996). "Voters Back Transit Plan On Fourth Try". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
12. "Sound Move: Launching a Rapid Transit System for the Puget Sound Region" (PDF). Sound Transit. May 31, 1996. p. 17. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
13. KJS Associates (December 1999). "Appendix A2: Station Site Screening". Everett-Seattle Final Environmental Impact Statement (PDF) (Report). Sound Transit. p. 4. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
14. "Sound Transit breaks ground on new Mukilteo Station". The Seattle Times. September 5, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
15. Velush, Lukas (August 28, 2007). "Mukilteo rail station work to start today". The Everett Herald. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
16. "Sound Transit breaks ground on new Mukilteo Sounder station" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. August 27, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
17. Pesznecker, Scott (May 31, 2008). "Sounder begins service to Mukilteo today". The Everett Herald. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved May 31, 2008.
18. "Sound Transit launches Sounder commuter rail service to Mukilteo" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. May 31, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
19. "Construction alert: Construction began at Mukilteo Station this week". Sound Transit. January 3, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
20. "Construction alert: North Platform Work to Start". Sound Transit. March 7, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
21. Salyer, Sharon (July 14, 2014). "Mukilteo Sounder station getting second platform". The Everett Herald. Sound Publishing. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
22. Progress Report: Sounder Program (PDF) (Report). Sound Transit. September 2013. p. 104. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
23. Haglund, Noah (January 12, 2016). "Long-delayed Sounder rail station in Mukilteo almost finished". The Everett Herald. Sound Publishing. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
24. Salyer, Sharon (March 28, 2016). "Service finally set to start on second Mukilteo Sounder platform". The Everett Herald. Sound Publishing. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
25. "New pedestrian bridge opens at Sounder Mukilteo station". Q13 FOX News. April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
26. Iwata, Roger. "Mukilteo Station South Platform". Sound Transit. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
27. Teagarden, Rebecca (November 30, 2012). "Linda Beaumont and Steve Badanes carve out a home in the woods". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
28. "Mukilteo Multimodal Project Preferred Alternative (Elliot Point 2 – Modified)" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
29. "Mukilteo Multimodal Project" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. February 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.

External links

• Sound Transit Rider Guide
• Mukilteo Station South Platform