Capitol Hill light rail update: What that crane is up to, what happens once Big Dig wraps

So what exactly is that monster crane up to? Sound Transit updates us with details on that and more with a new construction bulletin for the University Link light rail and Broadway station project. You can sign up for updates here http://www.soundtransit.org/Projects-Home/Project-Updates.xml Here's the latest from the Broadway/Denny work-site.

We've already gotten pretty nerd-cited about the Big Crane arriving at the site. You can get details on specs and more in this post. And we published a little bit of crane porn here. Now Sound Transit is showing off what the crane will be busying itself with:

The Kroll Tower crane will have two primary jobs on the Capitol Hill site. One will be placing the precast concrete tunnel liners into the excavated station area so that they then can be transported to the tunnel boring machine. These tunnel liners come in segments (see photo below), and once assembled inside the TBM they will each represent five feet of tunnel. The crane’s other job will be placing muck/dirt onto dump trucks to be hauled away once the muck comes out of the tunnel shaft on a conveyor belt.

Sound Transit also says the tunnel boring machine is currently planned to arrive in April. After assembly, it will begin boring the northbound tunnel from Broadway to downtown.

Meanwhile, Sound Transit reports Capitol Hill Station’s 540-foot long excavation is nearly complete with more than 97,000 cubic yards of soil removed.

Next for the big dig is the pouring of a 10-foot thick concrete slab that will create the station floor. Crews will pour the slab over five Saturdays in late winter/early spring. The work is tentatively scheduled to take place from 7 AM to 10 PM on those Saturdays, Sound Transit says.

If you're interested in learning more about the project status and want a chance to meet with Sound Transit reps, check out this upcoming "coffee hour" planned for Peets at Broadway and Denny on February 16.

Coffee hour on Capitol Hill

To learn more and answer your questions about the upcoming concrete work or any other aspect of the construction, Sound Transit is hosting a coffee hour at Peets Coffee located at the corner of Broadway and Denny on Wednesday, Feb. 16 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Come in, have a cup of coffee and talk with our staff about the Capitol Hill Station construction.