Sound Transit CEO: Mudslides prevention update

Joni Earl
CEO Sound Transit

By Joni Earl, CEO Sound Transit

As we enter another rainy season, it’s a good time for an update on the work that’s been done, and is on the way, to help prevent mudslides on the Sounder north line between Everett and Seattle.

Mudslides knocked out Sounder north line service in record numbers last winter and since then we’ve been supporting the work of the Department of Transportation and the BNSF Railway Co., which owns the tracks along this 35-mile corridor, to address some of the highest slide-prone areas.

Using a $16 million federal grant, the BNSF recently completed a 700-foot-long 10-foot-high slope retaining wall north of Mukilteo and a 200-foot-long wall north of Edmonds. Other slide-prone areas will see improvements in the future.

The agencies are also continuing to assist local jurisdictions as they educate property owners along the corridor about slope management and the proper disposal of vegetation and debris. In addition, we’re looking at ways to improve the models for assessing the conditions that cause mudslides.

We’re looking forward to additional improvements as the state and BNSF continue with mudslide mitigation projects in 2014.