Raze mega-church? Build on Superfund site? Sound Transit IDs maintenance facility options
Sound Transit has completed a study of the environmental impact of three potential sites for a new operations and maintenance facility that would serve Tacoma when Link light rail reaches the city in 2035. Now, it’s up to the agency’s board to pick a winner in a matter of days.
Two choices, including the preferred pick, would be on the extension from Federal Way to Tacoma, which has yet to break ground. The third and most problematic site would be on a former landfill adjacent to the extension now under construction between Federal Way and Angle Lake.
One of the Federal Way sites would require the demolition of a mega church now located there.
Wherever it ends up, the facility will store and service about 144 light rail vehicles for the Tacoma and Federal Way extensions.
Preferred Alternative
The leading contender is in Federal Way between South 336th Street and South 341st Place and between Interstate 5 and state Route 99. It would require 1.4 miles of connecting mainline tracks from the southern terminus of the Federal Way Link Extension (FWLE) now under construction.
Tracks leading to the facility would be elevated. Those tracks would one day serve as mainline tracks for the Tacoma Dome Link Extension (TDLE).
The 66-acre site would include three primary buildings, storage tracks, a training track, yard areas and approximately 480 parking spaces.
The plan would use the site now occupied by the Christian Faith church on 20th Avenue South. Church leaders are aware of the possible condemnation of the church, according to Sound Transit spokesperson David Jackson.
The estimated cost to build the facility and tracks ranges between $1.9 billion and $2.2 billion.
South 344th Street site
The second Federal Way site would be built between South 336th Street and South 344th Street and between I-5 and 18th Place South. The site would require 1.8 miles of connecting mainline tracks from the southern terminus of the FWLE project to the site. Those tracks would eventually be used for the TDLE project.
The South 344th Street location would use 64 acres and include the same infrastructure as the preferred alternative.
Tracks leading to the facility would be elevated.
The site would wrap around the Christian Faith church property and be adjacent and just to the north of the Walmart store on South 344th Street.
The estimated cost to build the facility and tracks ranges between $2 billion and $2.6 billion.
Midway Landfill site
The only site located on the current FWLE, the Midway Landfill Alternative is in Kent between South 246th Street and South 252nd Street and between I-5 and state Route 99. The FWLE line should start operating in 2026.
The 68-acre site has the same infrastructure needs as the Federal Way sites.
The facility would connect to the mainline tracks via a series of tracks between the Kent/Des Moines and South 272nd Street stations. Some tracks would be elevated while others would be at grade.
While the site is publicly owned and wouldn’t require the demolition of privately owned structures, it has what Sound Transit calls “unique risks.”
The former landfill is under active Superfund site monitoring for its contaminated hazardous wastes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has flagged it for management and cleanup.
The land is unstable as buried refuse is settling at different rates, according to Sound Transit. Construction would require full excavation of the buried garbage or the use of platforms, the agency said. The platform plan would require the use of approximately 700 concrete-filled drilled shafts 120 feet to 180 feet below finished grade.
The estimated cost to build the facility ranges between $2.1 billion and $3.5 billion.
Board decision
The report will be presented to the Sound Transit expansion committee on June 13. The board is expected to make a decision on June 27.
The targeted completion date for whichever site is chosen is 2029, Jackson said.
