MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Sound Transit hits ‘exciting’ milestone as it wraps up work on Northgate light rail stations

Feb 6, 2021, 7:38 AM | Updated: Feb 8, 2021, 6:49 am

Sound Transit finished construction on its elevated Northgate Link light rail station early last week. (Sound Transit) Northgate's elevated station. (Sound Transit) The inside of the Northgate light rail station. (Sound Transit) The elevated tracks running through Northgate. (Sound Transit) Another shot of the elevated light rail tracks. (Sound Transit) Trains being tested at the newly-completed elevated Northgate Link station. (Sound Transit) A test train runs between the UW and Northgate stations. (Sound Transit) Test trains stage at U District Station. (Photo courtesy of Sound Transit) Northgate's light rail station is currently in the testing phase. (Sound Transit) A bus transfer stop below the Northgate Station. (Sound Transit) The U District light rail platform as a Northgate test train moves through. (Sound Transit) The Northgate Station platform. (Sound Transit)

Sound Transit announced an important milestone this last week, having “substantially” finished construction on all three Northgate Link light rail stations.

Sound Transit estimates soar and trains start running to Northgate

Construction on the Roosevelt light rail station was finished early in 2020, followed by the U-District station over the summer. The elevated Northgate station was the final piece of the puzzle, wrapping up over the last week.

“This achievement is remarkable given the construction challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff said in a news release. “Thanks to the commitment and professionalism of our construction team, our contractors, and their skilled and dedicated workforce, we remain on budget and on schedule to open this extension in September.”

Sound Transit has been running test trains on elevated tracks in Northgate since January, a process that’s expected to run for several more months. When it opens, the 4.3-mile route will be able to take passengers from Northgate to downtown Seattle in 14 minutes. The route is expected to open to the public toward the latter part of 2021.

City leaders tout the fact that the extension will provide greater access to North Seattle College students, as well as to the Seattle Kraken headquarters and practice facility under construction in Northgate.

Seattle’s light rail expansions likely won’t reduce road congestion

“The Northgate extension will not only get folks downtown quickly,” Seattle City Councilmember Debora Juarez said. “It will also provide access to our reenergized Northgate area with the Kraken headquarters and three ice rinks, and give thousands of students reliable transit to attend class at North Seattle College.”

Service to Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Overlake is expected to open in 2023, followed by extensions in Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, Lynnwood, Kent, Federal Way, and downtown Redmond in 2024.

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