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Point Defiance, WA bypass project


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#1 EvergreenRailfan

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Posted 15 November 2006 - 04:58 AM

Here is a good article from the Tacoma News Tribune about the Point Defiance Bypass, which will allow Amtrak and SOUNDER trains to bypass the congested Point Defiance Line. The State portion of the construction should start next year, and should be finished in a few years.

Amtrak passenger trains will zip through three Pierce County cities at up to 79 mph on a new route within three to four years, officials say.

Allowing up to 16 Amtrak trains per day through South Tacoma, Lakewood and DuPont is part of a $60 million railroad track improvement program that the state Department of Transportation is overseeing.

Most trains run between Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Locally, 10 trains a day now take the scenic route along the Puget Sound shoreline, around Point Defiance, through Ruston and the area near the Port of Tacoma. They drop off and pick up passengers at a station on Puyallup Avenue.

But plans call for the Amtrak cars to travel at 79 mph on an improved route just north of the Thurston County line all the way to South 38th Street in Tacoma. They will slow to about 35 mph before stopping at the Tacoma Dome station, said Kevin Jeffers, state rail engineering manager.

The route change and increased speed through urban areas make some local residents nervous. Possible drawbacks include safety and noise.

“There’s an awful lot of crossings in South Tacoma,” Skip Vaughn of the South Tacoma Neighborhood Council said Tuesday. “It’s got to be safe. That’s the biggest thing.”

But neighbors and city officials can’t do much about the federal and state plan, other than request safety and other improvements.



#2 Sloan

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Posted 01 October 2008 - 11:59 AM

http://www.oregonliv...o_speed_po.html

#3 Loren Petrich

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Posted 03 October 2008 - 01:38 PM

I remember riding that route on an Amtrak Cascades train a few months ago. It has a nice view of Puget Sound, but it's rather roundabout. Some of the commenters in the oregonlive link found the expected speedup, about 6 minutes, rather underwhelming. But that that is 6 minutes out of 38 minutes between Tacoma and Olympia/Lacey, and that will avoid the single-track tunnel and the BNSF freight trains that use the Point Defiance route. The work will involve building a 0.35-mi connection between E C St. and S Hood St. in downtown Tacoma, between S 25th St. and S 26th St.; that will likely have some grade separations along the way.

#4 ICGsteve

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 12:50 AM

I wonder about the six minutes....the rail line crosses at grade very near the north fort Lewis gate. The rail line is between the gate and I-5, and in the morning the line of cars waiting to get past the gate stretches onto the south bound I-5. Right now Tacoma Rail runs something like five trains a week at ten miles an hour, so no problem. Running passenger trains at speed through here is a recipe for disaster. I gotta think that there will be an aggressive speed limit around Ft Lewis.


map-look for 41 st division drive

#5 Sloan

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Posted 05 March 2013 - 09:51 AM

With this approval, WSDOT’s project team will advance design work to reroute passenger trains from the BNSF Railway main line near Point Defiance to an existing, and less congested, rail line that travels through south Tacoma, Lakewood and DuPont. WSDOT expects construction to begin in 2015 and open the new route to service in 2017.


http://www.wsdot.wa....ONSI_issued.htm

#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 April 2014 - 10:48 AM

Progressive Railroading, 4/25/14:

Sound Transit OKs agreements with state, Amtrak to improve service


Sound Transit's board yesterday approved agreements with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Amtrak to proceed with passenger-rail service improvements between Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Here is the latest.


Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ


#7 Sloan

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Posted 31 July 2014 - 08:36 AM

Amtrak station advisory committee recommends approval of mid-Freighthouse location for Tacoma station

The state is building a new Amtrak station as part of an $89 million “Point Defiance Bypass” project. That project will reroute passenger trains from the present route along Puget Sound to a track that passes through South Tacoma, Lakewood and DuPont on the way to rejoining the mainline near Nisqually.


http://www.thenewstr...tml?sp=/99/261/

#8 Lightning

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Posted 26 November 2016 - 12:59 PM

I took my roundtrip to Lakewood yesterday.  As predicted, the trip southbound was entirely in daylight.  Coming back, it was dusk until about Puyallup when total darkness descended.  But I was most interested in really getting a good look at the segment from Tacoma to Lakewood via South Tacoma.  Of course once the entire cutoff project is completed, which I think  is scheduled for sometime next year, and at some point thereafter, Amtrak Cascade and Coast Starlight trains will be re-routed onto the cutoff and away from the Point Defiance main line.  The positive:  The trip time from Seattle to Portland will be shortened somewhat, not earthshakingly, but even fifteen minutes would be a good thing; no interference from BNSF mainline freight traffic (though there is and will continue to be minimal Tacoma Rail freight traffic--such a train was parked at a siding near South Tacoma station yesterday); plenty of newly laid or upgraded track making for a smooth ride.  The negative:  magnificent scenery along Puget Sound including the iconic twin suspension Tacoma Narrows bridges will be a thing of the past;  the cutoff route, at least between Tacoma Freighthouse and Lakewood goes through godawful ugly environs.  I'm talking about an old, decrepit industrial area, with abandoned factories, plenty of warehouses, and toward Lakewood, huge expanses of  parked cars along South Tacoma's auto row.  Current Amtrak riders will be disappointed, to say the least, with this route, at least as far as Lakewood.  Farther south it might get "somewhat" better as the route enters more suburban and rural territory, even with the southern part of the cutoff paralleling and "hugging" Interstate 5.  As to the new freighthouse Square Amtrak station, I didn't have time to get any pix, but a portion of the old freighthouse has been razed to the ground and that's where is now--no real construction yet.  Work is unfolding apace for the new concrete trestle on the eastern approaches to the station, which will replace the age-old wooden one, most inadequate for future services.   


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#9 CNJRoss

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Posted 19 January 2017 - 01:56 PM

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Jan. 19, 2017

 

Track stabilization and signal testing starts Saturday

 

point-defiance-bypass-at-grade-rail-cros

 

This weekend, starting on Saturday, Jan. 21, Sound Transit will begin the track stabilization and signal-testing portion for the Point Defiance Bypass project between South 66th Street and Nisqually Junction.

 

This phase of the testing involves running a Tacoma Rail freight train at speeds between 10 mph and 40 mph, so please use extreme caution whenever you are near the railroad right of way.

 

To ensure public safety, police officers will control each at-grade intersection during the testing period.

What to expect:

 

Testing trains will operate Saturday, Jan. 21, between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 22, between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

 

Potential traffic delays if a train is crossing at the following at-grade intersections:

  • South 66th Street
  • South 74th Street
  • Steilacoom Boulevard  Southwest
  • 100th Street Southwest
  • 108th Street Southwest
  • Bridgeport Way Southwest
  • Clover Creek Drive Southwest
  • North Thorne Lane Southwest
  • Berkeley Avenue Southwest
  • 41st Division Drive
  • DuPont-Steilacoom Road
 

For more information

 



#10 CNJRoss

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Posted 02 February 2017 - 07:57 PM

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Construction alert:

Point Defiance Bypass Track and Signal Work

Feb. 2, 2017

High-speed signal testing starts soon

 

at-grade-rail-crossing-north-thorne-lane

 

Between Feb. 7 and Feb. 15, Sound Transit will begin the high-speed signal-testing portion for the Point Defiance Bypass project between the Tacoma Dome station and the Nisqually Junction. This phase of the testing involves running an Amtrak Talgo train at speeds up to 79 mph, between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., so please use extreme caution whenever you are near the railroad right of way.

 

Upcoming testing dates:

  • Feb. 25-26

To ensure public safety, police officers will control each at-grade intersection during the testing period.

 

What to expect:

Testing trains will operate between Feb. 7 and Feb. 15 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Potential traffic delays if a train is crossing at the following at-grade intersections:

  • South 66th Street
  • South 74th Street
  • Steilacoom Boulevard Southwest
  • 100th Street SW
  • 108th Street SW
  • Bridgeport Way Southwest
  • Clover Creek Drive Southwest
  • North Thorne Lane Southwest
  • Berkeley Avenue Southwest
  • 41st Division Drive
  • DuPont-Steilacoom Road
 

For more information

 






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