Community Transit is set to begin construction on 24 Swift bus rapid transit stations along the Highway 99 corridor in Snohomish County on Dec.3. The 17-mile Swift route is scheduled to begin operation in fall 2009 between Everett Station in downtown Everett and the Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline.
Swift will be the first bus rapid transit line in Washington state, providing 10-minute service with a focus on rapid boarding at specific stations along the corridor. Construction of the 24 stations (12 in each direction) and a terminal at Aurora Village, will take place in two phases over a period of about six months. First, crews will dig trenches, locate utilities and pour 10-foot by 60-foot cement pads behind the sidewalk at each location. Then, work will begin to erect each station. Everett Transit, which is a funding partner in the project, will pay for renovation of Everett Station next year to accommodate a new Swift terminal there.
The stations will feature ticket vending machines to collect fares prior to boarding and “next-bus arrival” signs to indicate how many minutes until the next Swift bus. Waiting riders will not need a schedule.
The groundbreaking at 11 a.m. on Dec. 3 will take place at the intersection of Highway 99 and Airport Road, the southern Everett city line.
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