Sound Transit is replacing the wooden single-track railroad trestle east of Freighthouse Square with a concrete double-track structure that will allow for added trips of Sounder commuter trains as well as the added Amtrak trains that now run along the Point Defiance route at the waterfront. Construction on the new trestle is scheduled to begin in 2015 and be complete by 2017.
Other improvements include making minor street repairs, relocating some utilities, replacing retaining walls at both ends of the bridge and upgrading the railroad signals. Sound Transit is also working with the Washington Department of Transportation to incorporate design and construction of an extended platform that will accommodate future Amtrak passenger trains. The extended platform is being funded through WSDOT.
Tacoma officials wanted the platform as a way to avoid impacts on nearby streets. This new platform would be up to 16 feet wide to allow for waiting passengers, their luggage and carts as well as safety features. It isn’t needed for Sounder service, so funding for it would require additional grants, WSDOT and partnership dollars.
The total price tag so far is $62 million and will be paid largely through the 2008 voter-approved “Sound Transit 2” ballot measure and grants. In 2013, Sound Transit received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program and a $9.1 million grant awarded by the Puget Sound Regional Council that allowed officials to fast track the project. It had been slated for 2023.
Doing the work earlier allows the tracks to be ready for the opening of the new Amtrak Station at Freighthouse Square. This updated schedule accommodates three additional Sounder south line round trips and the completion of the Washington State Department of Transportation Point Defiance Bypass Project to shift passenger trains to tracks along South Tacoma Way to free up the waterfront tracks for the increasing flow of cargo trains.