Getting to U-District will get easier way sooner than expected

Not only does Sound Transit expect its major light rail extension to be more than $100 million under budget, it also says the project will be finished by March &#8212 six months ahead of schedule.

How can this possibly be?

“This project has gone fantastic for us,” says Sound Transit spokesperson Bruce Gray. “This is one of those projects where we had time and budget built in for a lot of risks that were out there before we started construction and things went smoothly and we didn’t have to dip into that time or money to deal with any of the risks. Things went as well as they possibly could have.”

Related: Bid for Bellevue light-rail tunnel comes in under estimates

Gray said the U-Link extension will open in March, though the official opening-date announcement is expected in the next couple of weeks. The 3.15 mile extension to Seattle’s current light rail network connects Husky Stadium with the new Capitol Hill station. The projected $1.9 billion project is supposed to add 71,000 riders to the system by 2030, bringing the system-wide total to 114,000. The project was funded through sales tax, Motor Vehicle Excise tax and federal grants. The extension is expected to create an eight-minute ride from UW to downtown and under an hour from the stadium to Sea-Tac.

“No matter how bad the traffic is, no matter what time of day,” Gray said. “It’s gonna be a huge game-changer for the region as far as getting around here.”

Gray said crews are wrapping up their final punch list items for the tunnels and “very shortly” train operators will begin making regular runs between Capitol Hill and UW, in order to get familiar with the new protocols of the extension. Starting in mid-February, every train will let passengers off at Westlake, as usual, and continue on to UW before turning back south.

“This is so making that full run becomes just a part of the operator’s day-to-day, regular routines,” Gray said. “That way nothing’s new on opening day or when we open the line for passenger services. All the operators and all the systems folks are comfortable with how things are supposed to go.”

Although the train is almost ready to roll, Gray says the expansive new development at the Capitol Hill station, which will include more than 400 new apartments &#8212 many of which will be affordable housing &#8212 a space for a permanent Farmer’s Market, grocery and retail &#8212 won’t be ready until late 2018.

“That work actually won’t start until after we’re up and running, and that will be a construction process for at least a couple years,” he said. “But the changes are just gonna keep coming to Capitol Hill.”

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