King County Metro Cuts Ribbon on New RapidRide Line

King County Executive Dow Constantine joined city, county, federal, and community leaders to celebrate the completion of major construction on the RapidRide G Line project, King County Metro’s eighth RapidRide line.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony in Capitol Hill paves the way for the start of service.

Metro’s RapidRide G Line

The new RapidRide G Line adds miles of red bus lanes, along with extensive upgrades and improvements to Madison St.

The line will connect Downtown Seattle with First Hill, Capitol Hill, Central District, and Madison Valley, providing a vital link between these key areas and offering the highest quality bus service in the region.

The redesigned Madison St. will improve safety around schools, small businesses, libraries, and hospitals, and the project also included sidewalk repairs, new walk and bike signals, and rebuilt utilities.

“Seattle has many reasons to celebrate this robust new transit line and the wide array of safety, accessibility, and connectivity improvements through some of our most vibrant neighborhoods,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “This upgrade and new six-minute service has been long anticipated for neighborhoods like the Central District, Capitol Hill, Downtown, and Madison Valley, and will bring real benefits.”

The Project

The $144.3 million RapidRide G Line project was funded through a combination of $80.5 million in federal grants, with additional contributions coming from Sound Transit ($35.8 million), the Levy to Move Seattle ($19.7 million), King County Metro ($3.5 million), WSDOT grants ($2.5 million), and other City of Seattle transportation sources ($2.3 million).

The federal grants included $59.9 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Small Starts program and $10.9 million from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

“The RapidRide network has become a critical economic and personal asset for millions of riders throughout the Puget Sound region,” said FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. “Adding this service to Madison Street will help connect families to each other, patients to healthcare, students to education, and get everyone where they need to go faster, safer, and more frequently. Thank you to everyone who made this investment a reality.”

Highlight of the RapidRide G Line

The RapidRide G Line will offer frequent service with new 60-foot, five-door buses arriving every six minutes most of the day to ensure reliable and efficient travel.

Dedicated bus lanes and faster boarding with center-running bus stations will reduce commute times and enhance ridership, while new curb ramps, crosswalks, and sidewalks improve accessibility.

Additionally, the project also included significant infrastructure upgrades like replacing a 120-year-old water main to improve drainage and wastewater systems and upgrading street lighting and power distribution.

“The new RapidRide G Line will deliver frequent and reliable service across Madison Valley, Capitol Hill, the Central District, First Hill, and downtown Seattle,” said Metro GM Michelle Allison. “This collaborative, regional effort serving some of Seattle’s oldest neighborhoods will improve lives, help local businesses, and expand access to opportunity.”

Highlights of the project include:

• 21 new RapidRide bus stops.
• 2 upgraded bus stops.
• 4 new center-running bus stations.
• 8 miles of new or replaced sidewalks.
• 1 lane-miles of concrete streets.
• 3 lane-miles of new asphalt.
• 4 miles of new dedicated bus lanes.
• 5 new signals and 36 upgraded signals.
• 108 newly planted trees.