Sound Transit West Seattle Link and Ballard Link Extensions Update

Courtesy of Sound Transit

SEATTLE – Sound Transit Board has identified its preferred alternatives for both its West Seattle Link and Ballard Link Extensions.

Sound Transit Board has identified its preferred alternatives for both its West Seattle Link and Ballard Link Extensions. According to “Reintroducing: West Seattle Link and Ballard Link” from Sound Transit, the two projects are independent of one another, even if both are in the planning phase. The West Seattle Link planning will include a Final Environmental Impact Statement, and the Ballard Link planning will include a new Draft EIS after more studies.

Sound Transit stressed that final decisions have not been made on either project, and that the “Board won’t determine the exact routes and stations to build until after the projects publish their respective Final EIS documents.” 

West Seattle Link

Sound Transit Board’s preferred alternative for the West Seattle Link was established back in July 2022, and the final EIS is expected in Spring/Summer of 2024. 

As Sound Transit finishes the final EIS, it is also “advancing the detailed design of the preferred alternative, or Preliminary Engineering.” Sound Transit is open for feedback on stations in West Seattle and SODO on October 25^th at 5:30pm at Alki Masonic Center during a West Seattle Link Extension Planning Forum. There is also an online survey.

Early acquisitions of “certain critical parcels” may be looked into before next summer, but the process will “not begin in earnest until after the environmental process concludes.”

Sound Transit announced utility relocation could start in 2025 with early construction activities beginning in 2026. According to the report, these two expected start dates would keep Sound Transit on schedule for a revenue service opening in 2032.

Ballard Link

The Ballard Link preferred alternative was identified in March before it was slightly changed in July. Currently, Sound Transit is developing a new Ballard Link Draft EIS with a projected publishing date of late 2024, but Sound Transit is “still coordinating with [its] federal partners on the timeline.”

This new Draft EIS will build upon the January 2022 Draft EIS and include “scoping comments, public outreach and feedback, and environmental analysis.” Once the Draft EIS is published, it will hold another public comment period. 

During this time, Sound Transit reports it is “advancing Preliminary Engineering, and continuing conversations with potentially affected property owners.” A Final EIS would likely be published in 2026 with a following move toward “implementation, including final design, permitting, and property acquisition, and ultimately construction.” A revenue service opening is slated for 2039.

South Downtown Hub Planning

In addition to the West Seattle Link and Ballard Link updates, Sound Transit detailed its South Downtown Hub planning. It is partnering with the City of Seattle and King County to advance these planning efforts. 

It will work to “create a list of potential improvements targeted at improving the public realm and improving connections in the C-ID/Pioneer Square area, and ways to activate Union Station.” By working with the community, it can identify and test ideas to “understand feasibility, cost, potential schedule for implementation, lead agency responsibility, potential funding partnerships, and other project components.”

A series of workshops with the community will begin later this fall and continue through 2024.