SEATTLE, MAY 28: Completion of the long-awaited Everett link light rail station was definitively approved by Sound Transit board members in a 16-2 vote today after nearly a year of lobbying and strategizing, spearheaded by board chair and Snohomish County Executive, Dave Somers.
The vote clinched what had been some uncertainty that Everett’s light rail extension from Lynnwood might be short-changed to pay for light rail expansion in Seattle to the Ballard neighborhood in the city’s northwest quadrant after Sound Transit grappled with skyrocketing light rail construction costs and a projected $34.5 billion budget shortfall on a promised $54 billion price tag for phase “ST3”, approved by voters in 2016 with 54% support.
In a moment that foreshadowed the ultimate vote, Somers told the fellow board members and Ballard light rail supporters packing the meeting, “this is a starting point, not an end point” for the future of the light rail system.
After the vote, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin said, “I really appreciate this entire board’s support of delivering on the spine”, referring to the skeletal reference of extending the north end of the 1 Line tracks between Tacoma and Everett.
“We’ve seen the positive transformational changes that light rail has brought to (local) communities,” Franklin continued, “so delivering on this proposal is about that. It’s about shared prosperity across the entire region.”
“This (new approval) is a huge success for our region. Delivering light rail from Everett to Tacoma is really important, it benefits the entire region.”
Franklin added, “We have so many people in Everett that travel to King County for work, and we also–as a major job center–have people in King County, Pierce County that travel to Everett for work, and so this delivers on that promise, and I’m very excited to be able to do that for our city and our residents.”
With today’s vote, light rail is expected to arrive in South Everett (128th Street) in 2037 and to the Everett Station (Smith Avenue) by 2041.
The current $34.5 billion budget shortage for ST3 has instigated wide-ranging calls among all 18 Sound Transit board members–including Franklin and Somers–to find ways to reduce future costs and/or timelines for planning and construction. “We believe that we can do some work to expedite that delivery date”, Franklin said, referring to the respective 2037 and 2041 completion dates.
Note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the Sound Transit board vote to deliver ST3 ‘s 2016 voter approved route to downtown Everett was unanimous. An initial vote on the “Enterprise” resolution today passed 18-0 before several proposed amendments were added and the final vote after amendments was 16-2.