Bus riders at the Eastside's largest transit hub now face longer walks and unfamiliar stops after Sound Transit closed the eastern half of Bellevue Transit Center for Stride bus rapid transit construction.
Eight routes that previously used bus bays 4 through 9 have been relocated to three temporary stops on NE 6th Street and 110th Avenue NE, according to a Sound Transit project bulletin issued Thursday, Aug. 6. The closure began Monday, July 27, and is expected to last through October.
The disruption compounds a bigger shift coming Saturday, Aug. 29, when Routes 271 and 550 will be permanently retired and replaced by new routes. Riders who memorize the temporary stops now will need to relearn their commute within weeks.
Where to catch your bus
Sound Transit has set up three temporary stops, mapped in a PDF guide:
- Temp Stop 1 (NE 6th Street east of 110th Avenue NE, in front of Meydenbauer Center): Routes 271 and 556 toward the University District.
- Temp Stop 2 (west side of 110th Avenue NE, south of NE 6th Street): Routes 271 to Eastgate/Issaquah, 550 to Seattle, 556 to Issaquah, 560 to West Seattle and 566 to Auburn.
- Temp Stop 3 (east side of 110th Avenue NE, south of NE 6th Street, in front of Bellevue Downtown Station): Routes 249 to Spring District, 532 to Everett, 535 to Lynnwood and 908 to Snohomish Park & Ride.
Bus bay 12 on 108th Avenue NE will also close Monday, Aug. 10, for repainting, according to a separate Sound Transit alert issued Friday, Aug. 7. That moves Route 249 to South Kirkland to Temp Stop 3 and Route 550 to Seattle to Temp Stop 2.
Longer transfer walks to the 2 Line
Riders connecting to Link light rail at Bellevue Downtown Station face a longer path. No temporary bus stop was placed near the station's east entrance at NE 6th Street west of 112th Avenue NE. Instead, the nearest stops sit at 110th Avenue NE, requiring riders to cross NE 6th Street and navigate a hill and a long signal cycle, according to Seattle Transit Blog.
Seattle Transit Blog contributor Mike Orr, who discovered the closure firsthand when he arrived to transfer and found the bays fenced off, wrote Saturday, Aug. 8: "I'm surprised such a major closure at the Eastside's biggest transit hub hasn't gotten more publicity."
What changes permanently Aug. 29
The temporary stops are just the first disruption. On Saturday, Aug. 29, Sound Transit's fall service change permanently retires Route 550 between Seattle and Bellevue, since the 2 Line now duplicates that corridor. Route 271 will also be deleted.
In their place, King County Metro announced Aug. 3 that new Route 270 will run between downtown Bellevue and the University District, and new Route 220 will connect Eastgate, Bellevue College and downtown Bellevue.
Route 556 will be restructured to terminate at Bellevue Transit Center rather than continuing to the U-District.
Metro described the Aug. 29 changes as one of its largest service expansions in recent years, adding nine new routes and more than 3,000 weekly bus trips countywide.
What comes next
After the eastern half reopens in October, the western half of the transit center will close for a second construction phase lasting through January 2027. The work is retrofitting the facility for Stride's double-decker battery-electric buses, including canopy upgrades, new lighting, signage and sidewalk improvements.
King County Metro will host an online information session for Eastside riders about the Aug. 29 service changes at noon Wednesday, Aug. 19.
As we reported July 27, the initial construction announcement indicated bus bays would remain open. The eastern-half closure is a materially more disruptive development than what was initially communicated.
