Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and city officials say key expansions of light rail to West Seattle and Ballard must be prioritized as Sound Transit wrestles with what is quickly becoming the bane of progressive government in 2025 — depressingly awful economic forecasts.
It is not clear how much difference easier permitting and streamlined construction guidelines can make. Options could include further-delayed openings, cut stations, and shortened routes.
Sound Transit officials said last week that the estimated costs to deliver the latest voter-approved package including transit projects across the three counties that pay for it have increased up to 25% over the current long-range financial plan. That forecast could mean Sound Transit would be billions short on the “Sound Transit 3” package including the Seattle light rail expansions.
With a diverse set of ST3 plans across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, Harrell, who sits on the Sound Transit board in his role as mayor, is calling on the regional public transit agency to prioritize Seattle as the city streamlines its permitting and construction policies to help ease the key projects.
“Major infrastructure projects like light rail expansion are facing significant cost pressures nationwide, but we cannot allow these challenges to derail our commitment to Seattle voters who overwhelmingly supported this investment,” Harrell said in a press release following the Sound Transit revelations. ““The West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions will be transformative transit expansions for Seattle and the region – generating significant ridership and making it easier than ever to get around. This moment calls for creative thinking and collaborative problem-solving across all jurisdictions to deliver on the projects supported by the voters.”
Wednesday, a Seattle City Council committee was working to shape legislation providing additional funding and head count “to expeditiously deliver the Sound Transit 3 program permit review and other oversight.”
Voters across King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties approved extensions to the light rail system in 2016 as part of the “Sound Transit 3” package in a plan hoped to dramatically expand light rail in the region. The package at the time was estimated to have a $53.8 billion price tag.
Most recently, Sound Transit says it expects to spend around $150 billion over the next 20 years. The new terrible forecasts could drive that number up by tens of billions.
Sound Transit’s most recent timelines call for the $11 billion, nearly 8 mile light rail extension to Ballard to open by 2039 with nine new stations, in addition the needed second downtown transit tunnel, and a Salmon Bay crossing.
The West Seattle link will be half as long and is currently planned to be fully delivered by 2032. It is projected to cost around $7 billion.
The forecast concerns come as Sound Transit has finally begun testing to connect the region’s light rail system across Lake Washington via I-90. That extension and the Central District’s new Judkins Park Station — and its Hendrix inspired design — has been pushed back to a 2026 opening.
The city says the Ballard and West Seattle extensions represent the best opportunity to Sound Transit’s investments to pay off with forecasts of an expected 200,000 boardings a day across the two stations.
Current light rail ridership has reached 3.4 million boardings per month — about 103,000 every day.
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