Sound Transit Launches First Portion of Link Light Rail Extension

Seattle’s Sound Transit launched Link light rail service on the Eastside, enabling passengers to travel quickly and safely to destinations throughout Bellevue and Redmond. The 6.6-mile initial segment of the 2 Line includes eight stations, with service every 10 minutes, 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

The opening is the first in a year of planned transit expansions at Sound Transit. In August, the 1 Line will extend into Snohomish County to Lynnwood, and in spring 2025, the 2 Line is expected to add two more stations in Redmond.

“This is a historic occasion for our region and the hundreds of thousands of people on the Eastside who will be able to use Link light rail to quickly and safely get to school, work, games, concerts, and more, without the hassles of traffic and parking,” said King County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dow Constantine. “We are well on our way to a more connected Puget Sound region with the 1 Line extension to Lynnwood opening in August, and the 2 Line further expanding next year.”

Sound Transit’s East Link Extension

Voters approved the East Link extension in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. The project broke ground in 2016, and the one-third mile-long Downtown Bellevue Tunnel was completed in 2020.

In August 2023, the Sound Transit Board authorized the opening of the initial segment of the 2 Line on the Eastside while construction to correct quality issues on the I-90 segment continues.

Since last February, trains have been running simulated service between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology Station, during which all Link trains run a normal schedule without passengers.

The Road to Completion

Shimmick/Parsons Joint Venture was the contractor for the South Bellevue Segment. The Downtown Bellevue Tunnel was constructed by Guy F. Atkinson Construction LLC. Stacy and Witbeck/Atkinson, a joint venture, completed the segment between Downtown Bellevue and the Spring District; Max J. Kuney Company was the contractor for the BelRed segment; and the contractor for the Redmond segment was Kiewit-Hoffman East Link Constructors, a joint venture between Kiewit Infrastructure West Co and Hoffman Construction Company of Washington. Mass Electric was the contractor for systems.

The full 2 Line is expected to open in 2025. The Downtown Redmond Link Extension is projected to open in spring 2025 with the Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond stations. When completed, the I-90 segment will add the Mercer Island and Judkins Park stations to the 2 Line and connect to the 1 Line at the International District/Chinatown Station in downtown Seattle.