BELLEVUE—Starting this morning, April 27, 2024, passengers on the Eastside of Lake Washington will be able to use Link light rail to travel quickly and safely to destinations throughout Bellevue and Redmond.
The 6.6-mile initial segment of the 2 Line includes eight stations, with service every 10 minutes, 16 hours a day, seven days a week. The travel time between the two ends of the line – from South Bellevue to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond—is 14 minutes, down from approximately 40 minutes to travel the same route by bus or 30 minutes by car during rush hour. Sound Transit estimates the 2 Line will service an average of 6,000 riders per day. The 6.6-mile line includes eight stops, with service every 10 minutes, 16 hours a day, seven days per week.
This is the first opening in a year of exciting transit expansions. In August the 1 Line will extend into Snohomish County to Lynnwood, and in spring 2025, the 2 Line is expected to add two more stations in Redmond.
“As the Seattle area continues to grow, we know that thousands of people depend on transit to move them around this growing and thriving community,” said FTA Regional Administrator Susan Fletcher. “The opening of the Eastside initial segment of the Link 2 Line light rail system will have a significant impact on the entire region, and it will make a really big difference for residents traveling to destinations on the Eastside.”
Approximately one-third of the $3.8 billion project was funded by a $1.33 billion transit loan through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA). The subsidized interest rate for TIFIA funding was less than half of what Sound Transit would have gotten otherwise, reducing lending costs on the projects by $200 million to $300 million. In addition, Sound Transit worked with the U.S. Department of Transportation to refinance five TIFIA loans, including the East Link project loan, resulting in savings of more than $500 million for the agency.
“Our region has become an economic powerhouse in so many things — in computer science, in space, in next-generation technology — but that doesn’t all work if we can’t get to and from work,” said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “I will continue to fight for more federal dollars in transportation. Our economy is working — let’s continue to make transportation an enabler of that economy.”
Upon finalization of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, Sen. Cantwell celebrated the inclusion of $329.14 million for the Federal Way Link Light Rail Extension—which fully funds the project three years ahead of schedule—and $254 million for the Lynwood Light Rail Extension.
“Sound Transit’s latest expansion unlocks the potential for greater economic growth in this region and it creates more opportunities for Washingtonians to connect and explore the cities and towns around Lake Washington,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee.
“This is a historic occasion for our region and the hundreds of thousands of people on the Eastside who will be able to use Link light rail to quickly and safely get to school, work, games, concerts, and more, without the hassles of traffic and parking,” said King County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dow Constantine. “We are well on our way to a more connected Puget Sound region with the 1 Line extension to Lynnwood opening in August, and the 2 Line further expanding next year.”
“We are about to board light rail on the Eastside for the first time thanks to the years of collaboration and hard work that our community members, project partners, Sound Transit staff,
and contractors have dedicated to make this moment possible,” said Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman. “Congratulations and thanks to the many hundreds of people who have played such an important role in bringing the vision of a more connected Eastside to life.”
Voters approved the East Link extension in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. The project broke ground in 2016, and the one-third mile-long Downtown Bellevue Tunnel was completed in 2020.
In August 2023 the Sound Transit Board authorized the opening of the initial segment of the 2 Line on the Eastside while construction to correct quality issues on the I-90 segment continues. Since last February, trains have been running simulated service between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology Station, during which all Link trains run a normal schedule without passengers.
As part of the 2 Line opening and Amazon’s hands-on approach to supporting mass transit, we will provide up to 15,000 pre-loaded ORCA cards to members of the community to promote ridership and support increased public transit access for the community.
Multiple contractors worked on the segment of the 2 Line opening today. Shimmick/Parsons Joint Venture was the contractor for the South Bellevue Segment. The Downtown Bellevue Tunnel was constructed by Guy F. Atkinson Construction, LLC. Stacy and Witbeck/Atkinson, a joint venture, completed the segment between Downtown Bellevue and the Spring District; Max J. Kuney Company was the contractor for the BelRed segment; and the contractor for the Redmond segment was Kiewit-Hoffman East Link Constructors, a joint venture between Kiewit Infrastructure West Co and Hoffman Construction Company of Washington. Mass Electric was the contractor for systems.
The full 2 Line is expected to open in 2025. The Downtown Redmond Link Extension is projected to open in spring 2025 with the Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond stations. When completed, the I-90 segment will add the Mercer Island and Judkins Park stations to the 2 Line and connect to the 1 Line at the International District/Chinatown Station in downtown Seattle.
Bus routes will remain unchanged until the 2 Line crosses Lake Washington.
Free parking is available at South Bellevue, BelRed and Redmond Technology stations. Several stations are accessible from the Eastrail corridor and the regional trail network. Secure bike parking is available at every station.
Visit soundtransit.org/Discover2Line for maps and information about how to ride.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
