The Bellevue City Council has voted for its preferred cost savings options on the future East Link alignment. The 6-0 vote could save the city up to $53 million.

Monday’s decision will leave the city short of its $60 million goal, though as residents pointed out at a public hearing last week, city funding would be the last money into the project.

After emotional testimony from residents heavily representing the Surrey Downs and Enatai neighborhoods, the council chose a set of options that they hoped would preserve quality of life, rather than saving Bellevue the most money.

“Our number one priority has been to protect our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Conrad Lee. “And we accomplished that tonight.”

Though the decision will still need to be finalized by Sound Transit at a meeting Thursday afternoon (after The Bellevue Reporter’s deadline), council’s vote approved the following:

• An elevated downtown station near City Hall, at Northeast Sixth Street. The option will amount to $19 to $33 million in savings
• A trench to run along the Winter’s House and Bellevue Way Southeast that will result in no savings, but was sought by Enatai residents. The council is still deciding on whether or not to construct an HOV lane, opposed by many neighbors because it would cut into a densely populated hillside.
• ”Road over rail” on 112th Avenue Southeast and a street-level crossing at Southeast Fourth Street, with emergency access only. An alternative entry into the Surrey Downs neighborhood is proposed from 112th Avenue, through Bellefield Residential Park. A noise wall would border much of the Surrey Downs neighborhood. Cost savings amount to $2 million to $4 million.

The council also passed an amendment applying $5 million of savings toward pedestrian improvements between the transit center and East Link’s future downtown station. Small engineering tweaks, not expected to impact the alignment, also could save the city anywhere from $9 million to $16 million.

After Sound Transit’s Board of Directors makes its selection of cost savings options, the agency is expected to begin property acquisitions. East Link, to be completed in 2023, will run from the International District across Lake Washington, through downtown and to Overlake, over I-405.