Features Mar 16, 2016 at 4:00 am

How They Built It, How Deep Underground It Goes, and What the Businesses Nearby Think

The site in 2012. A conveyor belt brought dirt out of the newly bored tunnels, and that green excavator lifted dirt onto trucks. Concrete segments of the tunnel walls—it took 6,700 total—are stacked to the right. Timothy Rysdyke

Comments

2
It's always amazed me that those spindly construction cranes can lift much of anything without crumpling to the ground (which they sometimes do)—but 33,000 pounds doesn't equal even one railroad car. A typical empty freight car weighs 20-40 tons (40-80,000 pounds), and loaded they have a maximum gross weight in this country of 286,000 pounds. 33,000 pounds is roughly the weight of 8-10 automobiles.
4
This is great, for students, but it a shame they didn't extend to the central u district with this roll out.
6
Twenty minutes to drive to the U district from the hill in the best of circumstances? You must drive incredibly slowly. According to Google it's a seven minute drive without traffic. Takes about ten with.
7
I agree, 20 minutes drive to the U district is excessive. That is what it would take if you ride the 49 from the stop outside the Egyptian to the stop outside the post office on the Ave.
By car the same trip should be about 10 minutes.
Also, yes street parking is difficult to come by. But paid parking lots regularly have availability, even on busy weekends. You will just have to be willing to shell 10 bucks and up.
8
My opinion of Christopher Frizzle decreased dramatically when I read "As someone morally opposed to any transit that takes up space on the already-congested road and ding-dings, I'm with Chang on this one."
9
People are going to shoplift, run into the station, and stand anxiously on the platform until a train comes?
10
I'd still rather have the old buildings. I miss Vivace's old location adjacent to Cal Anderson Park , along with Piroshki and Jack in the Box.
11
@10 I sort of agree. But quite frankly the buildings in that block were nothing special and kind of ugly. Not that I expect any master pieces to come up there, judging by the new buildings on Broadway.
12
It's funny to hear business owners praise increased access due to the transit changes. Businesses that have survived to this point may not survive the 'new market' they are all so excited for. If there really will be a new market, there will also be new competitors. With deeper pockets. Don't be fooled that this supports current businesses, current infrastructure, or current residents. We will all continue to be pushed aside, and for what? I hope it's a better city for those who choose to move in. It ain't gonna be for us. And Capitol Hill will be just another junky neighborhood with no identity or subculture.
13
But for the Apathists and the NIMBY Nazis here obstructing public-transit progress the prior five decades . . . . http://www.publictransportation.org/napt… & http://www.voicesforpublictransit.org * rolls eyeballs * .
14
Charlie's hasn't been slow due to construction. It's been slow because it's a terrible place with a lousy menu and an incompetent staff. It's a slap in the face compared with the former ownership.
16
@13 - Public transit is a good thing, no argument there. It's just that I find it silly that people think change will benefit their current lives. Not unless they change...
18
Twice Sold Tales was relocated because it was on the Capitol Hill Station footprint, but the U-District Twice Sold Tales was displaced by Chase Bank... which was relocated from the Ave station footprint. Between the two store locations, it's a net zero result for Twice Sold Tales.
19
Great article but there is so much more to the story and as far as "running into the station" - I didn't mean anyone is getting on a train, there has just been a consistent delay and lack of police response from 45min to 2hours while we have had a problem with a theft ring. It's just another place to disappear and hide. The remaining Broadway businesses have survived this long yes, but the first week, there has been no bump in sales except curious photo takers in amazement we are still here so it's too early to tell whether it will be a continued use of transportation for masses besides a convenient ride to the airport. There are still EIGHTEEN MONTHS of cable car construction coming from the city, planning on removing ALL LEFT TURNS, 48 more street parking spaces (We have lost over 550 paid parking spots so far), so basically, what is glaring is that we have no city support for small business and we have done all we can to keep the neighborhood going as gentrification moves in. I certainly appreciate our regular customers for their continued business. No one is ever happy with everything. If the city thinks Cap Hill will turn into the Pearl District by having continued empty store fronts appear while they do no marketing or subsidization during their little projects, they should take a cable car up and down the street, ding, ding, by all means, enjoy the ride but pay our rent.
20
Trendy Wendy you're absolutely right! The city is pushing gentrification but not preservation. If they don't preserve the character of the neighborhood for businesses, including yours, then we will end up with a sterile unpleasant generic unappealing neighborhood. In the time I've been here, I've seen Pike-Pine go from a quiet warehouse style business district to a wasteland the city forgot, then to a trendy spot for small business and community, and now it's all already being mowed over to becoming a generic soulless city scape, which will later become a city slum (my prediction). Not because of gentrification or because of mass transit, but because the city is neglecting the very thing that makes us who we are.
21
btw, it's similar to the Belltown... It used to be an artist community... Who would have guessed.

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