Sound Transit Board adopts East Link route and stations

The Sound Transit Board selected a route and stations for building the Seattle area East Link light-rail extension to serve the communities of East King County, culminating five years of study and community involvement. "Getting light-rail across Lake Washington will enable future phases of expansion to reach other Eastside destinations," said Sound Transit Board Vice Chair and Issaquah City Council Deputy President Fred Butler. The route and stations selected by the board will be reviewed by the Federal Transit Administration. After Sound Transit receives a Record of Decision from the FTA, the project will move into final design. Sound Transit is expected to start construction of East Link in 2015 or 2016 and launch passenger service in 2022 or 2023. The decision includes a tunnel through downtown Bellevue that is contingent on the City of Bellevue providing $160 million of the approximately $300 million of additional cost of building a tunnel. East Link riders would have one-seat rides between Redmond, Bellevue, Mercer Island to Seattle's downtown, Capitol Hill, University of Washington, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods and in peak periods to the cities of Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood as well. More East Link project information can be found online: http://projects.soundtransit.org/Projects-Home/East-Link-Project.xml