Vendors, volunteers can participate in MI Light Rail Station opening

Published 10:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026

With about a month to go until the Mercer Island Light Rail Station begins bustling with activity, the city’s chamber of commerce is on the lookout for vendors and volunteers to participate in the grand-opening day celebration on March 28.

An immense “Together at the Center” event that will also feature live entertainment, food and family-friendly activities will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is expected to draw thousands of people, according to the city.

Sound Transit’s long-awaited Crosslake Connection will link Seattle and Bellevue/Redmond via Mercer Island with trains zooming across the Interstate 90 floating bridge. It is the first-ever light rail worldwide to traverse a floating bridge.

The Mercer Island Station is situated at 77th Avenue Southeast and 80th Avenue Southeast and will be one of the segments of the 14-mile East Link Extension Project. According to Sound Transit, the 7.4-mile extension of the 2 Line will connect with the 1 Line at the International District/Chinatown station.

During a Sound Transit Link 2 Line update presentation at the Feb. 3 Mercer Island City Council regular meeting, that agency’s CEO Dow Constantine welcomed the Island into the light rail fold in joining other communities that are part of the regional network.

Constantine said that March 28 will be a truly historic day for Sound Transit and the Island. Challenges were faced and overcome during the journey from voter approval in 2008, to the groundbreaking in 2016, to the upcoming grand opening that came about through ingenuity and hard work, he added.

The Crosslake Connection is a game-changer, according to a Sound Transit video that it shared at the council meeting.

“Mercer Island residents and workers will benefit from trains running every eight to 10 minutes — all day, every day — with direct connections to Bellevue and Redmond, to Seattle, the University of Washington — 22 traffic-free minutes to the front door of Husky Stadium — to Northgate and north into Snohomish County,” he said. “It is going to be a remarkable change for folks who have been used to being stuck in traffic.”

In the engineering realm, the video noted that Sound Transit workers incorporated more than 10 different design elements to protect the bridge from any potential stray current. One of those safety elements is applying a strong adhesive to the concrete plinths — which are attached to the bridge — and applying a plastic drip cap on top of each block.

Sound Transit’s key areas of emphasis are: reliability, safety, security and cleanliness.

Brian de Place, Sound Transit’s executive director of security and fare enforcement, said that each station features fare ambassadors (who provide information to riders) and security officers (who also ride the trains). Sound Transit contracts with the King County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services and there’s a 24-7 security operations center that monitors the light rail system, responds to any issues that may arise and quickly helps deploy security.

If workers at the security operations center need to contact the local police department, contact information is at their fingertips. If Sound Transit needs to get ahold of fire departments, the agency’s facilities department and emergency management department have developed relationships with the fire teams to connect with each other.

In supporting local businesses, Sound Transit has been working with the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce on a social media program titled “Loyal to the Local,” which also spotlights local community activities and amenities.

Lending a hand on the parking front, there’s the park and ride along with the new commuter facility on Southeast 27th Street and Sunset Highway that features 35 parking stalls, bike racks, bike lockers and fresh landscaping, according to city documents. There will also be plenty of bike parking available at the station. Sound Transit noted that it has 4,000 parking spaces across the Eastside with convenient access to the 2 Line.

At the meeting, Mercer Island City Councilmember Craig Reynolds told the Sound Transit representatives: “Thank you for the great presentation. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see this thing finally being open.”

In a previous Reporter article, Mercer Island Mayor Dave Rosenbaum said, in part: “The opening of the Link Light Rail 2 Line Crosslake Connection on March 28 marks a historic milestone for Mercer Island, finally providing a reliable, traffic-free connection to the region that many in our community are eager to utilize.”

Grand-opening volunteer and registration application forms are available at: https://tinyurl.com/yfuf935w