Report: Sound Transit gets $1.2 billion of fed money for Lynnwood line

Sound Transit is getting $1.2 billion through a deal with the Trump administration that will push light rail even further north to Lynnwood.

The Seattle Times reports that once the Lynnwood line is completed, about 68,500 riders are expected to use it. It will take 20 minutes to get to the University of Washington station, and 28 minutes to get into downtown. Construction is expected to be complete by 2024. It will likely be a welcome option to commuters who now spend more than 1.5 hours getting into Seattle from Everett.

The $1.2 billion in federal money will pay for the 8.5 mile stretch of track between Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood and Lynnwood. The funds are part of an agreement with the Trump administration and still have to be approved by a congressional review, but The Times says it is likely to pass. Sound Transit is relying on federal funds to cover about 40 percent of the light rail project.

“It really is a major breakthrough,” Rogoff told The Times on Monday. “It signals the administration’s complete intent to go forward.

Senator Maria Cantwell said “Christmas came early to Puget Sound” with the $1.2 billion agreement.

Meanwhile, Northgate just got access to new parking spaces near its transit center. The Northgate light rail station is not expected to start service for another three years, but a parking lot for the station has already opened. KOMO reports that drivers have already started applying to pay $120 a month to reserve a spot at a new garage near the Northgate Transit Center. Other spaces at the parking garage will be open to drivers in general.

Three park-and-ride lots recently closed around Northgate. They collectively had 329 paces. The newly opened garage replaces those spots, and has about 120 more spaces.

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