Sound Transit is set to begin work next month on a US$3.7 billion (€3.31 billion) project in Seattle, Washington, US, to connect light rail services to the city's Eastside suburbs over the I-90 bridge on Lake Washington. The project is part of the East Link rail service that will create a 22km cross-river connection, including the first ever construction of a railway structure on a floating bridge. To overcome the obvious challenges, Sound Transit engineers designed a track bridge, with rails that rest on a series of bearings and plates, allowing them to move with changing water levels and bridge movements. Two full-scale prototypes were initially built by Sound Transit, in partnership with Parsons Brinckerhoff and Jesse Engineering of Tacoma. During testing - which was undertaken at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado - two Link rail vehicles were passed over the prototype bridges at speeds of more than 80km/h.
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