On 06/11/2015 the TBM Brenda reached the future station of the extension of the U District Northgate Link to Seattle, completing the third segment of the twin 3.5-mile tunnels being mined by JCM Northlink LLC, Sound Transit’s tunneling contractor for the Northgate Link light rail extension. The machine has now dug out 200,000 tons of dirt to reach the U-District Station. Brenda launched in July 2014 from the Maple Leaf Portal at NE 92nd Street south of Northgate Mall. Before resuming the advance towards the south, connecting the station University of Washington. It will undergo maintenance at the U District station site before continuing south and connecting with the University of Washington Station, which opens at the University Link in the first quarter of next year. 

The second machine, named Pamela launched from the Maple Leaf Portal last November, will arrive at the U District site early next year. Tunneling with the tunnel boring machines is expected to be complete by the third quarter of 2016. Tunnelling finishes and cross-passages, which connect the train tunnels and provide emergency exits, are scheduled to be complete by the first quarter of 2018. Light rail services on the Northgate Link extension begin in 2021, trains will enter and exit the tunnels at the Maple Leaf Portal. Click here and us/42 for tunnelbuilder archive.Visit http://www.soundtransit.org/. 45/15.