Name: Watry Design, Inc.
Price range: $

Sound Transit embarked upon the Sounder South Access Improvement Project with the goal of expanding capacity and improving the rider experience at Puyallup, Sumner, Kent and Auburn stations. The team of HNTB and Watry Design, Inc. was selected to provide procurement, preconstruction, design and construction management support services on behalf of Sound Transit for the project, which includes a parking structure at each station. Watry Design serves as the Design Manager for the Subject Matter Expert teams to ensure each design-build team’s design meets Sound Transit standards.

For the Kent Station access improvements, the original preliminary design utilized a larger footprint that would have required realignment of an adjacent street. Watry Design developed an alternate design concept for the RFP that utilized a narrower site. The team also prepared a visualization study to show how the alternative approach would fit into the context of the surrounding neighborhood. This approach eliminated the costly site work and created space for a bus layover facility on an adjacent site.

Full design of the project was awarded to the design-build team of Absher Construction and WJA Design Collaborative, and will include a 465-stall parking structure, 39 stall on-grade parking lot and Metro bus layover facility. The garage will feature a short term pick-up and drop-off area and public art by RYAN! Feddersen, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Brick work on the lower-level fits within the character of the city’s Downtown Overlay District. A glass canopy will protect riders from the weather as they travel to the train platform. The Metro bus facility will provide EV charging infrastructure for 12 buses and a comfort station building for bus drivers.

Owner: Sound Transit
Design Build Team: Absher Construction Company, WJA Design Collaborative, PCS Structural Solutions