$790 million grant means Federal Way light rail construction will start in spring
Sound Transit’s plan to run Link light rail to Federal Way by 2024 got $790 million closer Wednesday. It’s the final funding piece that gives a green light to construction on the route beginning in spring.
Federal authorities and the regional transit organization signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Federal Way Link Extension project in a ceremony at the Angle Lake Link Station in SeaTac. The Seattle Link line currently ends there.
Acting Federal Transit administrator K. Jane Williams and Rep. Adam Smith joined Sound Transit representatives and other officials for the signing.
“Commuters in Seattle can now look forward to a one-seat ride between King County, Sea-Tac Airport, downtown Seattle, and the University of Washington,” Williams said.
Sound Transit calls the grant a critical piece of the funding needed for the extension.
A $629.5 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation was finalized in December.
The total price tag for the Federal Way Extension stands at $3.1 billion, out of which $2.5 billion is the construction budget. The remainder is for contingencies, said Sound Transit spokesman Scott Thompson.
Trains on the 7.8-mile extension between Angle Lake and Federal Way will serve new stations in Kent/Des Moines and at South 272nd Street before terminating at the Federal Way Transit Center. Travel time from Federal Way to the airport should be 15 minutes on the extension, Sound Transit says.
Demolition and utility relocation work began on the route in fall.
“Completing this light rail extension to South King County will transform people’s commutes and position us to start building light rail from Federal Way to Pierce County starting only five years from now,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and University Place Council member Kent Keel.
The extension will put Seattle’s Link system within 11 miles of Tacoma’s Link system.
Tacoma Link is currently being extended to the Hilltop neighborhood with service to begin in 2022. Construction for that extension is well underway with rails already installed on South Stadium Way and more going in on MLK Jr. Way next week.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 5:20 AM.
