Sound Transit crews will replace the east and west stairs to the pedestrian skybridge at Kent Sounder Station that serves train commuters.
Crews will shut down the west stairs May 15 through July 7. The east stairs will close for repairs July 10 through Sept. 11. Elevator access to the bridge will be available during construction of each new stairway.
“The stairs are poor concrete grade and treads are rusted due to deicing (used to remove or prevent icing),” said David Jackson, a Sound Transit spokesperson, in a May 9 email.
Jackson said the parking garage, 301 Railroad Ave. N., and the stairs to the skybridge were built in 2002. He said the new concrete stairs should last at least 30 years.
Elevators in the Kent Station parking garage also will remain in operation throughout the project. Alternate access is available by using the pedestrian crossing at East Smith Street, south of the station.
The cost of the replacing the stairs is $316,000, Jackson said.
Sound Transit plans to build a second parking garage in Kent for Sounder commuters but the opening of that garage has been pushed out to 2027, according to agency officials. The garage is to be built along Railroad Avenue North, just south of West James Street.
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