DEIS published for Sound Transit for Federal Way Link Extension

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Sound Transit and the Federal Transit Administration have published the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for extending Link light rail to Kent/Des Moines and, when funding is available, to Federal Way.

 

The DEIS provides a detailed analysis of the potential benefits and impacts of the project, which would extend light-rail service 7.6 miles south of the future Angle Lake Station in the city of SeaTac through a corridor that parallels Interstate 5 and State Route 99. The DEIS includes four alternatives with various station and alignment options. It details how the project might affect transportation, economic development, properties in the study area and other natural and built environment resources. Ridership potential and conceptual cost comparisons are also included.

In 2008, voters approved the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure, which included plans for extending light rail south from the city of SeaTac to Kent/Des Moines and the northern boundary of Federal Way. After the recession wiped out 29 percent in projected ST2 revenues, the agency realigned its program. While funding to construct light rail south of Kent/Des Moines was no longer available, the board allocated $24 million to develop a shovel-ready plan for extending light rail further south to the Federal Way Transit Center when funding for construction is secured.

The Sound Transit Board is scheduled to identify a preferred alternative this summer. A Final Environmental Impact Statement is planned for release in mid-2016, with the board selecting the project to be built later that year. Final design will begin in 2017 and construction in 2019, with service to Kent/Des Moines beginning in 2023.

By 2023, Sound Transit will be operating nearly 50 miles of light-rail service northward to the University of Washington, Northgate and Lynnwood, eastward to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond’s Overlake area and southward to Kent/Des Moines. Link is expected to carry more than 80 million riders annually by 2030.

 

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