Flyover video shows progress of Sound Transit light rail extension in the South Sound
The 7.8-mile extension of Link light rail from Angle Lake to Federal Way is now 53 percent complete, Sound Transit said this week. That figure includes elevated guideways, station construction, tracks and parking garages.
Work is in various stages along the $2.54 billion Federal Way Link Extension as a flyover video from April shows.
When it’s operational, passengers boarding in Federal Way will be able to reach Sea-Tac International Airport in 15 minutes and downtown Seattle in 46 minutes.
The extension adds three stations to the system: Federal Way (at South 320th Street), South 272nd Street (formerly Star Lake Park & Ride) and Kent/Des Moines (near Highline College).
Recent construction updates include:
▪ The bridge over the future state Route 509 deck is being prepared for concrete pouring.
▪ The fourth (top level) of the parking garage at the Kent-Des Moines station has been poured. Station elevator and escalator pits are under construction below the elevated guideway.
▪ The 1,100-stall Star Lake station parking garage construction is underway.
▪ Escalator pits for the Federal Way Transit Center station are under construction. The new parking garage, an extension of the existing garage, is having its foundation excavated.
The line should look close to finished by the end of 2023. After that, extensive testing will lead up to the opening date in December 2024. The line eventually will reach all the way to Tacoma.
Much of the construction is visible to drivers on Interstate 5. One-third of the line is aerial and the rest is being built at ground level. The extension doesn’t use any tunnels.
