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Yesterday, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Federal Railroad Administration signed agreements that secured $16.7 million in federal High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail funds for the next phase of Seattle’s King Street Station restoration project.

WSDOT will use the grant to strengthen the station and its clock tower to better withstand earthquakes, as well as restore historical features of the facility’s main hall and upgrade electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. 

To be managed by the city of Seattle, the project is expected to begin in early 2012.

Since 2008, nearly $30 million in federal, state and local dollars have funded projects to restore and improve the facility, including a new roof, clock tower repairs and a more pedestrian-friendly plaza.

Built in 1906, King Street Station is the busiest station in the Pacific Northwest, serving nearly half a million Amtrak Cascades passengers in 2010, according to WSDOT.