A united Bellevue City Council agreed Monday night to support a light-rail tunnel for downtown Bellevue.
The council directed city staff to draft a letter to Sound Transit supporting a tunnel that would run along 110th Avenue Northeast. Six council members said they supported the tunnel; Deputy Mayor Conrad Lee was not present.
"The tunnel is still the preferable solution," said Councilmember Grant Degginger. "It goes where people want it to go. It will be the best long-term solution."
The cost for a tunnel along 110th Avenue Northeast is $285 million more than budgeted for that portion of East Link, the light-rail line that will run from Seattle to Overlake, but on Monday, City Manager Steve Sarkozy outlined ways the city could cut project costs.
The cuts — worth $104 million to $150 million — included contributing back to the project additional sales-tax and business-tax revenues the city receives as a result of the light-rail project, helping to make city property along the route more affordable and streamlining permitting, Sarkozy said.
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