Sound Transit going to voters for Federal Way light rail extension
Jul 27, 2015, 9:24 AM | Updated: 9:42 am
Sound Transit has taken another step in extending light rail to Federal Way, but it only has enough money to get it to Des Moines.
The Sound Transit board has determined what it believes is the best route to extend light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to Federal Way. The route would take the line along I-5, instead of along Highway 99.
Sound Transit’s Kimberly Reason says the board didn’t want to destroy Highway 99 with years of construction down a major and established route. Cost was also a significant issue.
“There is a vast difference between the alternative that goes primarily down I-5,” Reason said. “That cost is $1.4 billion — and those are preliminary cost estimates — versus $1.77 billion for an alignment that would travel through the Highway 99 area.”
The board is also struggling with how it can serve the 17,000 students at Highline College in Des Moines. The preferred alignment would take the trains close, but not all the way to the campus.
Reason says the board must fine-tune the plan.
“What the board needs to decide during the final environmental work that starts now is where exactly the station that will serve Highline College goes. Will it be on the east side of 99? On the west side?”
Funding
The extension to Federal Way was supposed to be funded by ST-2, but the recession killed those dollars. It now only covers half of the plan.
“The extension to the Highline College area is funded by Sound Transit to dollars currently,” Reason said. “The extension further south (to Federal Way) will need to be funded by Sound Transit 3 dollars.”
ST-3 must be approved by voters in November of 2016. Sound Transit still hasn’t figured out what that ballot measure will look like. It has the ability to ask voters for up to $15 billion in additional funding.
Reason says the board is deciding whether it should ask for all of the funding or just a portion.
Sound Transit also wants to extend light rail to Everett and to Redmond — and then eventually to Tacoma.
