When Michael Eggers first heard the noise, he thought Boeing was testing jet engines. The sound rolled through his Enatai neighbourhood in Bellevue like thunder, penetrating walls, rattling windows, and jolting him awake in the small hours of the morning. It was not an aircraft. It was a light rail train crossing Lake Washington.
Eggers and his neighbours have now spent months documenting the low-frequency rumble generated by Sound Transit’s 2 Line trains as they cross the East Channel Bridge, and after what they describe as months of broken promises and silence from the agency, they are threatening legal action.
A group of Enatai homeowners sent an eight-page letter to Sound Transit leadership on 8 June, alleging the agency is violating local noise ordinances, failing to honour environmental commitments made during the East Link project’s planning phase, and stonewalling residents who have been raising the alarm since testing began in February. Regular service across Lake Washington started in late March, and residents say the problem has only worsened since then.
The numbers they have gathered are striking. Residents recorded train crossings reaching approximately 83 decibels directly beneath the bridge, compared to roughly 64 decibels from nearby vehicle traffic, making the trains roughly 3.5 times louder than the cars and trucks that share the same corridor. At nearby homes, nighttime noise from train crossings measured around 65 decibels, exceeding the ambient nighttime noise level of approximately 57.5 decibels. Bellevue’s noise code sets stricter standards for residential areas during nighttime hours, with recent amendments specifically intended to protect sleep.
The overnight schedule compounds the problem. Trains cross the East Channel Bridge until approximately 12:45 a.m. and begin again as early as 4:30 a.m., producing around 50 crossings during hours when residents are trying to sleep. “It has really affected our sleep,” Eggers said.
The homeowners’ letter lays out a timeline of communication with Sound Transit that residents characterise as “delays, stonewalling, silence, and broken commitments.” The attorney representing the group alleges the agency has been aware of the issue since testing began, repeatedly promised monitoring and updates, and consistently failed to deliver. “They’ve known about this for four months, and we’ve received nothing but delays, broken promises, and stonewalling,” Eggers said.
The letter also raises concerns about whether Sound Transit adequately evaluated the effects of the bridge expansion joint during the East Link environmental review process, and questions the potential impact on wildlife habitat in the Lake Washington corridor.
The ask, for now, is relatively modest. Residents want Sound Transit to reduce train speeds across the East Channel Bridge between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. They argue the adjustment would have minimal impact on travel times while immediately reducing the overnight disturbance that has upended life in the neighbourhood.
Sound Transit declined to address the substance of the allegations, citing pending legal action.
This is not the first time the agency has faced noise complaints that turned out to be legitimate. In 2009, Sound Transit acknowledged that light rail trains in South Tukwila were exceeding federal nighttime noise limits and ultimately installed lubrication equipment and other mitigation measures to bring sound levels into compliance. Eggers is hoping for a similar outcome this time. “We’re just asking them to acknowledge the problem and do something about it,” he said.
