The 4.1-mile light rail service known as the West Seattle Link Extension now has a final route plan that includes four stations and a new bridge, a key step toward the start of construction on the 6,700-mile project to $7.1 billion by 2027.
Sound Transit, the light rail and transit operator in the greater Puget Sound region, which includes Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Everett, continues an effort to expand light rail service in all directions, part of a plan to form a regional region of 116 miles. system in the coming decades.
With the Sound Transit board selecting the final route and station locations for the West Seattle Link extension, plans may move toward the final design phase before construction begins in 2027 with an expected service date of 2032.
“Through the board-led work plan, our action today allows Sound Transit to use the design process to address cost pressures, reduce impacts and prepare projects for construction,” says Dow Constantine, Sound Transit board chairman and King County executive, in a statement. .
The 4.1 miles of light rail track will feature three new stations in Delridge, Avalon and Alaska Junction after diverting from the existing SoDo station. All three new stations are across the Duwamish Waterway and require a purpose-built light rail-only bridge.
The project also includes tunnels, with the new Avalon station in a capped cut and the new Alaska Junction station in a tunnel under 41st Avenue Southwest and Southwest Alaska Street. Other parts of the plan include level and elevated tracks.
Map courtesy of Sound Transit
Originally approved by voters in 2016 as part of the ST3 plan, the largest infrastructure program in Seattle’s history. The roughly new cost estimates for the project represent a sharp increase from the $4 billion projection the project had by 2023.
Goran Sparrman, interim CEO of Sound Transit, says an amendment to the approval allows the agency to work to reduce project impacts and financial issues during the design phase.
“As we begin to implement the work plan and address cost pressures, we will engage with the construction industry earlier to identify how best to approach our projects and develop ways to create greater efficiencies once we enter to construction,” he said.
The final alignment incorporates tweaks requested by the board when it first identified the preferred alternative in 2022. The changes prioritize transfers between light rail and bus, improve station access and serve concerns about the undue displacement of organizations that serve low-income residents.
Sound Transit plans to return to the board as design progresses to authorize construction dollars.
