Sound Transit breaks ground on light rail extension

Seattle’s Sound Transit and its partners marked the start of construction of the 8.5-mile Lynnwood Link Extension, which will extend light rail from Northgate to Lynnwood City Center. The extension includes four new stations serving Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, and Seattle.

Stacy & Witbeck/Kiewit/Hoffman JV and Skanska L300 JV is doing the construction on the extension. The $2.9 billion project budget includes up to $1.17 billion from a Full Funding Grant Agreement executed by the FTA. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau executed a $658 million low-interest loan supporting the Lynnwood light rail extension. That loan was one of four loans captured in a Master Credit Agreement reached between Sound Transit and the U.S. DOT at the end of 2016.

The one-of-its-kind agreement should save regional taxpayers between $200 million and $300 million through lower interest costs.

Lynnwood Link light rail service is scheduled to begin in 2024. Sound Transit plans trains to operate every four to six minutes during weekday peak hours. Commuters from the Lynnwood Transit Center will enjoy 20-minute rides to the University of Washington, 27-minute rides to downtown Seattle and 60-minute rides to Sea-Tac Airport. Trains from Lynnwood will also serve the Eastside and reach downtown Bellevue in 51 minutes. Sound Transit projects ridership to reach between 47,000 and 55,000 daily riders by 2026.