Sound Transit Board identifies route, station options for North Corridor rail expansion

The Sound Transit Board of Directors Thursday identified potential station locations for staff to study as part of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for light rail between Northgate and the Lynnwood Transit Center.
The Draft EIS will also look more closely at impacts associated with the alignment running along the I-5 corridor, and will examine impacts and benefits associated with building stations at the following locations along I-5:
  •  NE 130th Street
  • NE 145th Street
  • NE 155th Street
  • NE 185th Street
  • 220th  Street SW
  • 236th  Street SW
  • Lynnwood Transit Center

Other areas of study include alignment, profile and station design issues. Sound Transit will also seek to avoid, minimize or mitigate potential impacts of the project as the project moves forward. The Draft EIS is scheduled to be complete in spring 2013.

Last month, Sound Transit completed the latest phase of public outreach, which included ongoing consultation with local governments, and ten “listening stations” in North King County and South Snohomish County. Nearly 500 community members engaged staff to gather information and have their opinions known about future light rail options along the I-5 corridor. That input — as well as ongoing analysis — helped inform the Sound Transit board’s decision today.

The line is part of the Sound Transit 2 extensions to the north, east and south approved by voters in 2008. It is scheduled to open in 2023.

Recent analysis estimates the North Corridor light rail line will carry 52,000 riders a day by 2030 and take about 14 minutes to travel between Lynnwood and Northgate; it will feature four stations with trains running every four minutes during rush hour.

The project is estimated to cost between $1.4 and $1.6 billion. Sound Transit believes the project will be very competitive for federal funding because of its high ridership potential through one of the most congested corridors in the country.

By 2023, the line will connect with the light rail station at Northgate and travel south through the University of Washington to downtown Seattle where riders can continue on to Sea-Tac International Airport/S. 200th St. or ride east across Lake Washington to Mercer Island, Bellevue and the Overlake/Microsoft campus area.

  1. Very excited for this. It is a lot of money, but removing even half of those drivers from i5 should decrease tractor trailer shipping expenses, give employees a reliable and quick, noncongestion dependant way of getting to work, and increase income in areas surrounding the stations for small businesses.

  2. Why allow the Cities along the rail path a voice to tax and demand money for “Impact fees” that only drive up cost for this expansion and further delay the laying of rail. Why was this not done after the Cities of Seatac and Tukwila held Sound Transit ransom for Mulit million dollar impact fees. Firetrucks and a Million+ Dollar Ladder Trucks plus staffing cost! Make this a Fedaral Program no so It will cut cost and drawn out council approvals. Lets Keep the Greedy City Council Members out of the taxpayers pockets and keep them from driving up costs and only delaying the roll out of this vital expansion. It would be even better if the city of Seattle became a NO BUS zone and we retuned tram services like we had prior to 60’s. But when the Auto industry ‘Weston Meyers” started supporting City council Members that would agree to pull steet cars from city streets. They changed the dynamics of growth. So, just like before, we had a city council do away with The best thing about the waterfront and a tourist draw was the Tram at the waterfront. We should lern from the Most Livable City in the world. Melbourne Australia, Where the waterfront tram came from. The use of bus services is very limited and the electric tram is located on every major road and connects All parts of the city. And Im sure they work a smaller budget than what we pay Metro to fund diesel buses to pollute and clog the roadways

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