The Sound Transit Board approved a $1.2 billion 2016 budget on Thursday that provides $802.9 million in light rail and other system expansions.
“Our region’s commuters will see historic progress in 2016,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine in a media release. “We will open light rail extensions to Capitol Hill, the UW and Angle Lake, and successfully complete our tunneling between Northgate and UW. In November, the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure will allow the region to vote on further light rail extensions to places like Everett, Tacoma, downtown Redmond, Ballard and West Seattle.”
A Kent-area project in 2016 includes $22 million to complete Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) work on the Federal Way Link Extension and begin preliminary engineering to Kent/Des Moines to near South 240th Street. The agency plans to extend light rail to Kent from SeaTac with the line opening in 2023.
Another project next year that impacts the Kent area is $23 million to complete an elevated station and guideway, and a 1,050-stall parking garage, construction for the South 200th Link project in SeaTac opening fall 2016.
Other projects in the 2016 budget include:
• $40 million to complete station construction, systems installation and testing for the University Link project opening in early 2016
• $165 million for Northgate Link construction
• $203 million for East Link final design and start of tunneling and construction
• $70 million to complete preliminary engineering and begin final design for Lynnwood Link
• $44 million to complete final design and begin constructing the Tacoma Trestle
• $11 million to complete final design and start construction of an expanded Sounder layover facility in Lakewood that will accommodate added south line service by 2017
• $9 million to purchase new coaches for expanded Sounder service to Lakewood
• $11 million to expand Link light rail fleet
• $75 million for the I-90 Two-Way Transit & HOV Operations project to upgrade fire safety components of the outer tunnels
• $49 million to fund the Operations and Maintenance Satellite Facility
• $7 million for the Tacoma Link extension
In response to strong support for continued expansion of regional mass transit services, the Sound Transit Board will shape a package for a Sound Transit 3 ballot measure that voters will consider next November. A draft package is scheduled to be released for public review in early 2016. Information on the candidate projects being considered is available at soundtransit3.org.
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