Sound Transit is entering the assessment and early development phases for $6.7 billion of light rail projects that aim to connect Seattle and its western suburbs, according to the agency’s February 2018 Summary of Previous Studies and Plans.
The WSBLE Project would provide fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers throughout the region and add a new downtown Seattle light rail tunnel to provide efficient operating capacity for the entire regional system. The extension to West Seattle would operate on a 4.7-mile elevated guideway from downtown Seattle to West Seattle’s Alaska Junction neighborhood and include a new rail-only fixed span bridge across the Duwamish River. The West Seattle extension would serve one at-grade station in the stadium area and four elevated stations in the SODO, Delridge, Avalon and Alaska Junction areas.
The Ballard extension would operate 7.1 miles from downtown Seattle to Ballard’s Market Street area and include a new 3.3-mile rail-only tunnel from the International District/Chinatown to South Lake Union and Seattle Center/Uptown. The representative project includes an elevated guideway along 15th Avenue West and Elliott Avenue West and a rail-only movable bridge over Salmon Bay. The Ballard extension would serve three elevated stations in Ballard, Interbay and near Smith Cove, and six tunnel stations at Seattle Center, South Lake Union, Denny, Westlake, midtown and International District/Chinatown areas.
During the next year, the agency will give the public a chance to offer comments on the projects.
The Link and tunnel projects are part of the $54 billion Sound Transit 3 initiative approved by voters in November 2016.
