Sound Transit Board chooses I-5 for light rail through Shoreline

Light rail train on south link

At a meeting on Thursday, December 15, 2011, Sound Transit’s Board of Directors chose the I-5 alignment for the North Corridor light rail project, eliminating the Aurora (SR 99) alternative. 

Station locations include 145th for the first station after Northgate; 185th and the Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood Park and Rides follow.

The report’s most-cogent reasons for eliminating SR-99 were:

• The I-5 alternative has the best chance of competing for federal New Starts funding; and
• Northgate and Lynnwood are the two regional centers to connect with development under the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Transportation 2040 vision for the region.

As such, the I-5 alignment with an elevated track is the most direct route between these two and involves less expense to acquire properties, impacts fewer parcels, and has few or no businesses to acquire or disrupt. As a result of all of these, construction costs would be lower and, as a shorter line with one less station, would cost less to construct and operate. 

The North Link will follow I-5 north

Further, both Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace “have more-intensive land use and economic development around stations, and both are preparing for regional transit improvements,” while Shoreline has “shallow land parcels and local policies that seek to buffer adjacent neighborhoods (that) limit opportunities for economic development,” and there is concern about business and construction impacts that include “the barrier that an elevated guideway along SR-99 would pose.”

Shoreline’s challenges: 

• getting people to the light rail stations on congested streets that have limited station parking; 
• retaining at least as much bus service in the city as presently exists given King County Metro’s financial situation, where a two-year $20 vehicle license fee averted significant service cuts; 
• keeping the 145th station in Shoreline;  
• catching up to Lynnwood and Northgate in enabling development around stations.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2018 and open for service in late 2023. Voters approved the project as part of the 2008 Sound Transit 2 package of light rail extensions to the north, east and south of Seattle. The project is estimated to cost between $1.4 and $1.6 billion. Sound Transit believes the project will be very competitive for federal funding because of its high ridership potential through one of the most congested corridors in the country.