Light rail in West Seattle delayed until 2035

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It will be at least nine more years before Sound Transit launches light rail service in West Seattle.

Back in 2016, when voters approved a $53 billion-plus bond issue to be paid back through higher taxes and auto registration fees, the line was promised to be running by 2030.

That date held firm as the Sound Transit Board approved a new plan in May to address a $35 billion budget shortfall.

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It will be at least nine more years before Sound Transit launches light rail service in West Seattle. Back in 2016, when voters approved a $53 billion-plus bond issue to be paid back through higher taxes and auto registration fees, the line was promised to be running by 2030. That date held firm as the Sound Transit Board approved a new plan in May to address a $35 billion budget shortfall.

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Acting Chief Capital Delivery Officer Brad Owen announced the revised schedule, pointing to a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall and delayed design work as key factors.
"This is difficult news to share," Owen stated, explaining that staff had to halt final design and land acquisition phases while the board addressed the $35 billion long-range financial gap.
That process culminated in the updated transit system plan, adopted in May, which gave the go-ahead for the West Seattle line.
14 meeting, the expansion committee took some concrete steps forward by approving a $765 million funding measure for the West Seattle line.
The package earmarks $465 million to purchase 55 real estate parcels along t...

Details worth keeping

A revised transit plan in 2021 pushed the line back to 2032. That all changed at a Sound Transit system expansion meeting on Aug.

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