LYNNWOOD—Sound Transit’s Lynnwood Link light rail extension entered a new milestone, pre-revenue testing, on Friday, June 7, which includes training for operators and maintenance staff, and continued testing to ensure stations, tracks, utilities, and vehicles work together as expected in preparation for the start of service.
“We’re less than three months away from the opening of the Lynnwood extension,” said County Executive Dave Somers. “Each milestone brings us that much closer to fast, reliable light rail service that Snohomish County residents have been wanting and needing for years. I’m thrilled that we will finally be able to ride Link and enjoy the economic, climate, and community benefits that it will bring to the county.”
When the 8.5-mile extension opens on August 30 it will add four new stations, two in Shoreline, one in Mountlake Terrace, and one in Lynnwood. When it reaches completion, the voter-approved light rail extension will be the largest transportation project the state has ever seen and one of the largest federal investments to a transportation system in the nation at $75 billion.
The extension will turn Sound Transit’s current 35-mile, 39-station, two-line system, into a 116-mile line with 83 stations over the next two decades.
“Lynnwood is proud to be Snohomish County’s rapid transit gateway ushering in light rail service and fostering mixed use transit-oriented development,” said Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell, who sits on both the Sound Transit and Community Transit boards. “Lynnwood Link is also a catalyst for Lynnwood’s community vision for planned growth and community livability. This commitment to mixed use sustainable development has been planned since the 1990s.”
During the pre-revenue testing period, light rail trains will be running frequently between the Northgate and Lynnwood City Center stations, as well as maintenance vehicles, texting equipment, and personnel on the tracks involved in the testing process. Those passing by the soon-to-open station can expect to hear sounds typical in an operating light rail system including station announcements, wheels on the tracks, and warning signals.
Scott Rastelli, Deputy Regional Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), shared Friday that, as he drove from his home in West Seattle to Lynnwood, he was reminded of when the neighborhood was deemed virtually inaccessible due to an infrastructure failure for nearly two years, making the point the light rail could have lessened many West Seattle resident’s burden. Rastelli continued to thank President Joe Biden and the Bipartisan Infrastructure law to allocate the funding for projects such as the light rail expansion.
“This is a symbol to the region that we are all systems go on expanding a reliable, traffic free service across the region and bringing it to tens of thousands of new riders,” said Terri Mestas, Chief Deputy CEO for Sound Transit.
Beginning next month, the Lynnwood light rail extension will commence its next phase of testing which will consist of simulated service where all trains will discharge passengers at Northgate and continue to Lynnwood.
The next phase of testing will be simulated service, which will begin next month. During simulated service, all trains will discharge passengers at Northgate and continue to Lynnwood. When the Lynnwood extension opens, trains will run every eight minutes during peak hours.
Stacy & Witbeck/Kiewit/Hoffman JV and Skanska Constructors L300 JV are building the $3.26 billion Lynnwood Link Extension. Approximately, $1.17 billion of the $3.26 billion project comes from a Full Funding Grant Agreement executed by the FTA.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau executed a $658 million low-interest loan supporting the project, including new light rail vehicles and support facilities.
The Lynnwood extension will run every 8-minutes during peak hours when it opens late August, serving the following stations, all of them with connections to multiple transit modes:
- Shoreline South/148th Station. Located just northeast of I-5 at the NE 145th Street exit, the elevated Shoreline South/148th Station includes a parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces as part of the project.
- Shoreline North/185th Station. Located on the east side of I-5, the Shoreline North/185th Station serves Shoreline Stadium, the Shoreline Conference Center and the surrounding neighborhoods. Improved pedestrian pathways connect the station to the west side of I-5. A parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces is part of the project.
- Mountlake Terrace Station. Located east of I-5 at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center just north of 236th Street Southwest, west of Veterans Memorial Park, the elevated Mountlake Terrace Station straddles 236th Street Southwest, and is a short walk from the Mountlake Terrace Library, new city hall and future transit-oriented development. There are 890 existing parking spaces near the station.
- Lynnwood City Center. Located at the Lynnwood Transit Center, this elevated station serves one of the busiest transit centers in the region, with extensive connections to local and regional service. A new garage containing 1,670 parking stalls in a five-story structure opened last year.
In 2016, voters approved the addition of a light rail station to the Lynnwood Link Extension at NE 130th Street. That station is scheduled to open in 2026.
One Response
Will the elevators work as s person in a power wheelchair I used to take light rail Northgate to UE Hospital and to work in Downtown Seattle, but daily I get texts about multiple elevators outages at light rail stations, if I can’t get off at a station because I’m trapped and can’t either get down to road or up as in case of downtown tunnel, I’m being tax for a system that “would” be great for the disabled to be able to get to the SeaTac Airport, or Downtown Seattle safely.