Mayor aims to tackle soaring light rail costs for Ballard, West Seattle

Sound Transit gave riders and would-be riders some bad news last week—construction costs for light rail expansion have skyrocketed to the tune of an additional $30 million.

All options are on the table, according to Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine.

Tuesday morning, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell held a news conference in Ballard to announce plans to curb costs for light rail expansions to Ballard and West Seattle. First, the mayor said he will streamline the city’s permitting processes, cutting red tape and getting projects approved faster and finished sooner.

“Time is money. We’ve all grown up hearing that. We have to advance our projects quickly. Every single day of delay adds unnecessary expense to taxpayers,” Harrell said.

Harrell said he will also increase the city’s staff that works with Sound Transit to provide seamless communications and smoother logistics.

Harrell urges officials to work together to complete light rail

Outside Seattle, from Snohomish County to Pierce County, Harrell said every municipality and every jurisdiction must work together toward one goal—to get light rail completed as close to on-time as possible and as close to the original budget as possible.

“The voters trusted us to deliver this generational investment. And that’s indeed what it is, and we will not let them down. We can solve these challenges if we work together,” he shared.

Harrell added that the light rail expansion is critically important to voters and to the future of transportation in the region.

Transportation Choice Coalition Executive Director Kirk Hovenkotter echoed how crucial the extension is to the region.

“Light rail is more popular than the Kraken, or the return of the Supersonics,” he said. “The excitement is palpable.”

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