© 2025 Autodesk. All rights reserved.

Advancing Rail Through Digital Innovation in Seattle, Washington

Next Stop: Sound Transit

2

Speakers

Justin Lopez

Deputy Director, AEC Technology

Sound Transit

Jay Mezher, AIA

Vice President | Digital Delivery

Mott MacDonald

Agenda

Image courtesy of Sound Transit

00

01

02

04

Departure Station: New Tracks Ahead

Data Central: CDE Foundations

Reality Checkpoint: Existing Data

Engagement Square: Visualization

05

06

Handover Terminal: Digital As-Builts / Records

Innovation Platform: AI Pilot Program / Innovation

03 Design Junction: Model Based Design

07 Destination: Digital Twin

Departure Station

New Tracks Ahead Challenges & Opportunities

Sound Move (Completion 2009)

2D CAD

 $3.9 Billion

 20.35 mi (32.75 km), 14 Stations

ST2 2008 (Completion ~2025)

CAD, BIM, GIS, LiDAR

 $7.9 Billion

 38.4 mi (61.79 km), 26 Stations

ST3 2016 (Completion ~2045)

Full BIM, CDE, VR, AI, EAM, Digital Twins

 $60 Billion

 62 mi (99.7 km), 29 Stations

Phases of Sound Transit Expansion

Sound Transit Project Types

Sound Transit Project Types

Sound Transit Project Types

I-90 Floating Bridge – An engineering first!

I-90 Floating Bridge

State of the Possible – Past and Future

Late 1900’s

1993 - Sound Transit is created

AutoCAD 2D is the standard platform

2000’s

BIM adoption by AEC industry

AEC sector begins to code

Software Solutions

2012 – ST BIM Adoption for Facilities

2020’s

2025 – More Model based design

Common Data Environment (CDE)

Machine Learning, Deep Learning & Large Language models (AI)

2030’s and beyond

Exponential Growth in information

• “96% of Engineering and Construction data is unused”

• “13% of working hours spent looking for project data”

• “Applications are not integrated with one another”

-Big Data = Big Questions for Engineering and construction industry FMI – White Paper

• 2030’s and beyond

Exponential Growth in information

State of the Possible – Past and Future

Station 1

Data Central CDE Foundations

Previous

Proposed

Contractor/ Designer Sound Transit ACC

ACC Bridge

Automated & Synchronised File Sharing

Location: Specific

Pathway

Location: Specific

Pathway

Status: Shared Status: Shared

BIM Models BIM Models

BIM Models

Manual handling of files Huge file downloads (incl. ref files)

Zipping + unzipping of files

Manual handling of files Huge file downloads (incl. ref files)

Zipping + unzipping of files

IM Process Evolution

Contractor/ Designer Sound Transit ACCSharePoint

Sound Transit CDE (Autodesk Construction Cloud)

15

Contract

Package 1

Contract

Package 2

Contract

Package 3

Contract

Package 4

Contract

Package 5

Contract

Package 6

Contract

Package 7

Contract

Package 8

Contract

Package 1

Contract

Package 2

Contract

Package 3

Contract

Package 4

Contract

Package 5

Contract

Package 6

Contract

Package 7

Contract

Package 8

View Shared Published

Project Master ACC | Record Models

Sound Transit Hub Master Projects

Sound Transit Hub Connector Projects

Contractors’ Hub Design & Construction Projects

Data analytics dashboards

Project Data Hub

• One-stop hub for all project members to

• access and search for

project data

• Dashboards by discipline

• Single location

• Consistency + Access Control

Station 2 Reality Checkpoint Existing Data

Geotechnical Sub-Surface Modeling

TDEM Drone MCGPR

Utility Mapping & Scanning

Sub surface

Utility Scans

Earlier

investigations

Minimize invasive

potholing

Minimize risk

2 corridors

Pilot Program

Utility Mapping & Scanning

Sub surface

Utility Scans

Earlier

investigations

Minimize invasive

potholing

Minimize risk

2 corridors

Pilot Program

Image courtesy Exodigo

Reality Capture – LIDAR Scanning Downtown Sound

Transit Tunnel

LIDAR Scanning

New approaches to

record models

Accurate final

conditions + BIM

overlays

Reality Capture – 360 Photos

Station 3 Design Junction Model Based Design

Building Information Modeling

26

Model Based Design - BIM

• Immersive ‘Digital Lab’

• Enable a full digital experience

• Dedicated space on campus

Digital Lab – Immersive Space

29

Station 4 Engagement Square Visualization

INTEGRATED

MODEL

DIGITAL MODELLING FRAMEWORK

EXISTING

MODELS ARCHITECTURAL

MODELS

CIVIL

MODELS

CONSTRUCTION

SCHEDULE UTILITIES +

GEOTECHNICAL

TRAFFIC &

PEDESTRIAN MODELS

CONSTRUCTION

DRAWINGS

COORDINATED

DESIGN

QUANTITY TAKEOFF

ESTIMATING VISUALIZATION 4D

MODELS

COST LOADED

MODELS

DIGITAL

TWIN

AS-BUILT/RECORDS

MODELS

INTEGRATED

MODEL

DIGITAL MODELLING FRAMEWORK

EXISTING

MODELS ARCHITECTURAL

MODELS

CIVIL

MODELS

CONSTRUCTION

SCHEDULE UTILITIES +

GEOTECHNICAL

TRAFFIC &

PEDESTRIAN MODELS

CONSTRUCTION

DRAWINGS

COORDINATED

DESIGN

QUANTITY TAKEOFF

ESTIMATING

4D

MODELS

COST LOADED

MODELS

DIGITAL

TWIN

AS-BUILT/RECORDS

MODELS VISUALIZATION

INTEGRATED

MODEL

CID Stations Visualizations

Station 5 Handover Terminal: Digital As-Builts / Records

Station 6 Innovation Lab: AI Pilot Program / Innovation

video

Results!

• Efficient, repeatable 300% – 1300%

output

• Higher confidence 5% - >90%

review coverage

• Reporting, Reverse indexingNew capabilities

• Delivery, Resiliency, Maintenance Expanded future

use cases

• Standards, Design, Query, Prompts Changing the way we work

41

Eye-tracking

Moment-by-moment

insights into unfolding

cognition, uncovering

pain points and optimal

design solutions

Eye-tracking +

Augmented

Reality  Ability to manipulate and test objects

 Insights into interactions with

environment

43

44

Station 7 Destination: Digital Twin

Digital Twin - Capabilities

Real World Virtual World

Digital Twin - Capabilities

Real World Virtual World

Integrated 3D model

Connected data

Monitoring capacity

Simulation

Maintenance

Digital Twin – Types and Progression

Descriptive • Identical to real

world

• Linked asset info

Informative • Sensor Data

• Performance

• Monitor

Predictive • IOT Sensors

• Warning thresholds

• Predictive maintenance

Comprehensive • Train AI Agents

• Automated work

orders

Digital Twin – Types, Examples, Pilots

Informative • Sensor Data

• Performance

• Monitor

Predictive • IOT Sensors • Warning thresholds • Predictive maintenance

Comprehensive • Train AI Agents

• Automated work

orders

Descriptive • Identical to real

world

• Linked asset info

© 2025 Autodesk. All rights reserved.

Thank you!​

© 2025 Autodesk. All rights reserved.

Advancing Rail Through Digital Innovation in Seattle, Washington

Next Stop: Sound Transit

Default Section Slide 1 Slide 2: Speakers Slide 3: Agenda Slide 4 Slide 5 Slide 6 Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 9 Slide 10 Slide 11: State of the Possible – Past and Future Slide 12 Slide 13 Slide 14 Slide 15: Sound Transit CDE (Autodesk Construction Cloud) Slide 16: Data analytics dashboards Slide 17 Slide 18 Slide 19 Slide 20 Slide 21 Slide 22 Slide 23 Slide 24: Building Information Modeling Slide 25 Slide 26 Slide 27 Slide 28 Slide 29 Slide 30 Slide 31 Slide 32 Slide 33 Slide 34 Slide 35: CID Stations Visualizations Slide 36 Slide 37 Slide 38 Slide 39 Slide 40 Slide 41: Eye-tracking Slide 42 Slide 43 Slide 44 Slide 45 Slide 46 Slide 47 Slide 48 Slide 49 Slide 50 Slide 51 Slide 52