Madison BRT - RapidRide G Line: Downtown Seattle to First Hill to Madison Valley

Updated: April 5, 2021

What’s happening now?

We've reached final design on the Madison BRT - RapidRide G Line project and the Federal Transit Admistration has now allocated $59.9 million in funding to this project (which covers about 45% of the total budget). See more in our April 5, 2021 blog post.

Depending on that funding timeline, we expect construction to start in fall 2021 and to open the new G Line in 2024. 

See what the project will look like on your block!

Before construction starts, we're collecting additional information from neighbors on access needs and who to contact during construction. When we have the construction contractor on board, we'll have more to share on what to expect during construction. Feel free to contact us with questions or to meet with our project team. 

Project Overview

The Seattle Transit Master Plan (2012) identified Madison St between the Colman Dock Ferry Terminal in downtown Seattle and 23rd Ave E as a future high-capacity, bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor.

The project will provide fast, frequent, reliable, and safe public transportation between 1st Ave and Martin Luther King Jr Way. The route will serve highly dense neighborhoods in downtown Seattle, First Hill, Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madison Valley. It will connect people to hospitals, schools, businesses, and other destinations as well as to dozens of bus routes, the First Hill Streetcar, and ferry service at the Colman Dock Ferry Terminal.

Madison St BRT - RapidRide G Line is a partnership between the City of Seattle and King County Metro. King County Metro will operate service on Madison Street as RapidRide G Line.

SDOT and King County Metro are currently working to make RapidRide investments to multiple corridors as part of SDOT's Levy to Move Seattle Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Program and King County Metro's RapidRide program.

What are the benefits?

Reliability

  • Buses will come at least every 10 minutes throughout the day
  • Bus only lanes and bus priority at traffic signals reduce bus travel time (by 5 minutes from Colman Dock to Madison Valley) and improve reliability
  • All-door boarding and doors on both sides, so people can board efficiently from new center-running stations (between 9th Ave and 13th Ave)
  • ORCA readers at the stations to pay before boarding
  • Real-time bus arrival information at stations

Accessibility

  • Station platforms level with bus so no stairs to climb
  • New curb bulbs, crosswalks, sidewalks, curb ramps, and bike lanes in sections

Equity

  • Serves historically underserved neighborhoods with an affordable and reliable transportation option

Upgrades and vibrancy

  • Updated utilities and street paving
  • New art and landscaping

What will it look like?

Madison BRT design renderings at the Central Library; Madison and Terry; Madison and 12th; and Madison and John

  1. Rendering above at Central Library shows a station shelter, real time arrival info, station platform at the same level as the bus, and bus lane. 
  2. Rendering at Madison and Terry shows a center running station, pedestrian refuge (protected space in the middle of the street), center running bus lanes, new curb ramps, landscaping, station shelters, and real time arrival info. 
  3. Rendering at Madison and 12th Ave shows a center running station, new curb ramps, pedestrian refuge (protected space to wait in the middle of the street), bus lanes, landscaping, and new curb ramps. 
  4. Rendering at Madison and E John St shows a station platform level with the bus, bus only lane, new curb ramp, yellow tactile strip for people with vision impairments, station shelter, and real time arrival info.

Project features map

The map above shows key features of the project. Features include:

  • Repaving the street and changing the lane layout, including widening Madison by 1 to 2 feet in some locations
  • Building new bus platforms along the project area, including 4 center-running stations between 9th and 12th avenues
  • Placing new bus shelters and other station amenities
  • Installing new poles and relocating some overhead trolley wires to match the new street layout
  • Upgrading the streetlight network in the First Hill neighborhood
  • Installing five traffic signals (8th Ave and Spring St, 10th Ave and Madison St, 18th Ave and Madison St, 19th Ave and Union St, Harrison St and MLK) and upgrading existing signals
  • Installing detention tanks to manage stormwater runoff (Madison St between 12th and 13th avenues, 10th between Madison and Seneca streets, and E Pine St between 15th and 16th avenues)
  • Water and sewer main replacement east of Broadway
  • Building curb bulbs to shorten pedestrian crossings (Madison St at the intersections of Minor Ave N, 10th Ave, 12th Ave, Union St,  Pike St, 15th Ave, 18th Ave, 19th Ave, Denny St, John St, and 27th Ave; Spring St at the intersections of 7th, 8th, and 9th avenues)
  • Building new and upgrading many existing curb ramps
  • Landscaping throughout including tree removal and replacements and enhancements on Spring Street over I-5
  • Public art (Madison St and 14th Ave, Madison and Pike streets)
  • New bus stations and bus lanes
  • New bike connections

Check out this video for an overview of the project:

What to expect during construction

Construction will be disruptive. You can expect to see and hear construction activities throughout the corridor during the duration of work. Construction impacts will include:

  • Noise, dust, and vibration
  • Nighttime and weekend work, as needed
  • Traffic shifts and detours for people walking, biking, driving
  • Temporary utility shut offs
  • Temporary driveway, street, and lane closures
  • Temporary parking restrictions and permanent parking removal

Planned construction timeline

  • Spring or summer 2021: Select a contractor to build the project. After a contractor is selected, we'll know more on the following:
    • Work schedule and working days
    • Construction sequencing
    • Traffic control plans (e.g. intersection, road, and side street closures and detours)
  • Fall 2021: Anticipated construction start
  • We expect construction to take about 2.5 years to complete and the RapidRide G Line to open in 2024

Milestones and Schedule

TimelineActivities/Milestones
Jan 2013 – May 2014 Project scope defined
Jun 2014 – Apr 2015 Developed and analyzed concept design alternatives, began community engagement
May 2015 – Oct 2015 Refined concept design with community engagement
Nov 2015 Finalized and shared draft concept design
Feb 2016 City Council approved concept design to move forward (also called Locally Preferred Alternative)
Feb – May 2016 Validated cost assumptions from concept design before beginning early design
Spr/Sum 2016 Community engagement on early design, including individual meetings, community briefings, and a series of open houses in August
Jan – Feb 2017 Met with property and business owners to discuss construction options and parking and loading needs
March 2017 2 public meetings (March 9 and 15) and an online open house to share latest project design and get public feedback
Spr/Sum/Fall 2017 Continue design process; continue working with property owners, businesses, and residents to complete construction phasing plan; environmental review
Feb – Mar 2018 SEPA Determination of Non-Significance comment period (February 25 through March 1); SEPA Appeal Period (March 1 through March 8)
Summer 2020 Received the final Readiness and Risk Report from the Federal Transit Administration 
Fall 2020 Final design
Late 2020 Secure Federal Small Starts Grant and finalize funding agreements with Sound Transit and Seattle City Council
Fall 2021 Construction anticipated to start and take about 30-36 months to complete
2024 Madison St BRT service begins (as RapidRide G Line) 

Funding

This project is partially funded by the voter-approved Levy to Move Seattle, the voter-approved Sound Transit 3 (ST3) package, and state and federal grants. We are pursuing Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding to be able to deliver this project. The project budget is about $133.4 million. This was increased due to FTA requiring additional contingency funding.  

A recent federal report determined SDOT is qualified to complete the Madison St Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - RapidRide G Line project. This step is an important milestone toward qualifying for Federal Small Starts Grant funding, covering about 45% of the project cost. See more in our April 5, 2021 blog post.

Levy to Move Seattle logo


Materials Library

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

August 2020

February 2020

January 2020

November 2019

July 2019

March 2019

October 2018

July 2018

February 2018

NEPA Documented Categorical Exclusion Appendices:

January 2018 

Fall 2017

Summer 2017 

Spring 2017

March 2017

February 2017

January 2017

November 2016

August 2016

July 2016

January 22, 2016 City Council Meeting 

November 16, 2015 Open House

October 2015

July 2015

May 2015 Online Survey Results In May, the Madison Street BRT project hosted an online survey to seek input on: BRT design options, routing, terminals, and station location priorities for transit service and capital investment design concepts for a Central Area protected bike laneThe results of the survey can be found here.

May 2015 Open House

Design Sheets (*Draft concepts for analysis purposes - NOT final designs*) 

Reports

January 2015 Online Survey

November 20, 2014 Open House

September 30, 2014 Open House

September 2014 - Stakeholder Outreach 

Learn More

Sign up and feel free to contact us to learn more about the project and provide input.

Está información es acerca del sistema de autobuses rapid transit de la calle Madison (Madison Street BRT).

Para más información acerca del proyecto o para solicitar servicios de intérpretes, por favor llamar al teléfono del proyecto al (206) 484-2780 o por correo electrónico MadisonBRT@seattle.gov

此信息是有關麥迪遜街的快速交通系統(麥迪遜街BRT) 想了解有關此工程的更多信息，或需要翻譯服務，(206) 484-2780或電郵MadisonBRT@seattle.gov

請聯繫(206) 484-2780或電郵MadisonBRT@seattle.gov이것은 매디슨 가의 급행 버스 체계 (Madison Street BRT)

에 대한 정보 입니다. 이프로젝트에관한 정보를 더 원하거나 통역 서비스를 요청하려면(206) 484-2780 이나 MadisonBRT@seattle.gov 로 연락해 주세요

Warbixintani waxay ku saabsan tahay Baska Deg-dega ee Waddada Madison (BRT Waddada Madison). Warar intaa ka badan oo ku saabsan mashruuca ama inaad weydiisato adeeg turjubaan, fadlan soo wac telefoonka mashruuca  oo ah (206) 484-2780 ama email  MadisonBRT@seattle.gov

यह जानकारी मैडिसन स्ट्रीट बस रैपिड ट्रांजिट (मैडिसन स्ट्रीट BRT) के बारे में है। परियोजना के बारे में अधिक जानकारी के लिए, या भाषांतर सेवा का अनुरोध करने के लिए, कृपया प्रोजेक्ट फोन (206) 484-2780 पर कॉल करें, या MadisonBRT@seattle.gov पर ईमेल करें।

Đây là thông tin về Xe Buýt Vận Chuyển Nhanh Đường Madison (Madison Street BRT). Để biết thêm thông tin về dự án hoặc để yêu cầu thông dịch, xin gọi điện thoại của dự án ở số (206) 484-2780, hoặc gửi thư điện tử đến MadisonBRT@seattle.gov

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