Sound Transit gets crucial $1.4B in funding for Federal Way light rail
Dec 17, 2019, 1:55 PM
A light rail car on display. (Atomic Taco, Flickr Creative Commons)
Sound Transit’s Federal Way light rail project has seen a myriad of issues throughout its lifespan. Now, it’ll get $1.4 billion in critical funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Federal Way light rail project is millions over budget
In 2018, it was reported that the bid to expand light rail to Federal Way was over-budget by nearly half a billion dollars, with an estimated cost of $2.549 billion. Enter the USDOT, which stepped in on Monday to award Sound Transit a $790 million grant and a $629 million low-interest loan to fund the project.
“Securing this federal funding enables us to fulfill our promise of delivering regional light rail to the residents of South King County,” Sound Transit Board Chair and Redmond Mayor John Marchione said in a news release.
Overruns for the project have been driven by the rising price of relocating families and increased costs for materials such as steel, lumber, and concrete. Essentially, since ST2 was passed, property values along the light rail path have increased and Sound Transit has needed to purchase them to build the line.
Sound Transit going to voters for Federal Way light rail extension
Demolition and utility relocation began over the fall, while construction is set to kick off in the beginning of the new year.
The trip from Sea-Tac to Federal Way on the new line is expected to take about 15 minutes via the new light rail line. The light rail extension from Angle Lake to Federal Way will be about 7.8 miles, and have three stations.
The project is expected to be finished in 2024.
