The Sound Transit Board has selected the route for the future West Seattle Link Extension. The board voted on October 24, 2024 to approve both the route and station locations for the West Seattle light rail. Although construction won’t begin until 2027, this vote was an essential step to allow the project to move on to the final design phase.
Read on for all the details about the upcoming West Seattle light rail service.
The West Seattle Link Extension will add 4.1 miles of light rail service running between SoDo (which stands for South of Downtown) and the Alaska Junction neighborhood of West Seattle.
These are the four station locations approved by the Sound Transit Board this October:
- West Seattle Junction segment: Medium Tunnel 41st Avenue Station West Entrance Station Option
- Delridge segment: Andover Street Station Lower Height South Alignment Option
- Duwamish Segment: South Crossing Alternative
- SODO segment: At-Grade Lander Access Station Option
This was the preferred alternative for this link extension, as identified by the board in July 2022. At the time, the board requested “further studies of refinements” which will be incorporated in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Construction is slated to begin in 2027 and the West Seattle light rail is ultimately due to open in 2032. This Link extension was approved by voters in 2016. This past September, Sound Transit shared that the estimated cost had increased to somewhere between $6.7 and $7.1 billion for the extension.
You can read an in-depth recap of the board meeting on West Seattle Blog and also find more information on the Sound Transit website.