Seattle light rail finally opens across Lake Washington

Just like that, Seattle’s light rail became a region-encompassing, 58-mile system Saturday, with the not-so-simple crossing atop a floating bridge.

Light rail service between Seattle and the Eastside will start March 28, a long-overdue connection that will provide congestion-free rides across Lake Washington to work, entertainment, college, sports events and the airport.

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay has announced his first slate of proposed appointments to the Sound Transit Board of Directors Thursday — a group who will be tasked with major votes charting the future of the region’s transit system in 2026. Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson, Tukwila Mayor Thomas McLeod, and King County Councilmembers Steffanie Fain and Teresa Mosqueda will become the board’s freshman class in January, filling a number of vacancies opening up in the wake of last month’s election.

Unless you were looking for it, Highline College used to be kind of hard to find, even when it was right next to you. Drivers on Highway 99 were hard-pressed to see the entrance for the community college — one of the state’s largest, with more than 14,600 full- and part-time students. An alley tucked between a Baskin-Robbins and an empty lot with the occasional food truck was the only way in from the busy road.

Sound Transit is weighing a major change to the long-planned West Seattle light rail extension, announcing Tuesday night that it is considering eliminating the proposed Avalon Station in an effort to rein in rapidly rising project costs. Agency leaders say dropping the station could save them about 15%, largely by reducing property acquisitions and construction expenses.

As Sound Transit continues to work toward a grand opening for the full 2 Line, finally connecting the growing light rail network across Lake Washington, signs of positive progress on testing are becoming more visible. With a ribbon-cutting still being eyed in March or April of next year, the new milestone serves as a mark of progress and will be sure to hype transit advocates up for one of the most highly anticipated transit expansions in Pacific Northwest history.

Light rail riders will be able to take 1 Line trains as far south as Federal Way starting December 6th, Sound Transit announced Thursday. The three-station extension will be the agency’s last expansion to the south until the Tacoma Dome extension slated for 2035.

Sound Transit revealed Thursday that its long-term costs are expected to soar by 20% to 25% as the agency deals with runaway construction inflation and modernization projects to make train service more dependable.