Sound Transit's Northgate light-rail extension reaches 70 percent completion mark
Sound Transit's Northgate Link Extension has reached 70 percent completion, as project construction move ahead to start service in 2021.
Sound Transit says progress on Northgate Link construction includes track installation, which is nearing 50 percent completion. In addition, construction at each of the three stations on the extension has reached a significant milestone. The Northgate Station is approximately 70 percent complete and the Roosevelt Station is nearing 70 percent completion. The University District Station is approximately 50 percent complete.
When finished, the 4.3 mile regional light-rail extension will offer riders reliable, traffic-free travel between Northgate and downtown Seattle in just 14 minutes. Trains traveling in 3.5-mile twin tunnels north to and from the University of Washington Station at Husky Stadium will stop at underground stations in the U District and Roosevelt neighborhoods, exit the tunnels at First Avenue Northeast and Northeast 95th and transition to a 0.8-mile elevated guideway to reach the station.
The project is a major component of Sound Transit's regional commitment to complete 116 new miles of voter-approved light rail, the largest rail service expansion in the country.
Sound Transit is simultaneously working to extend light-rail north, south, east and west, opening new stations every few years to form a 116-mile regional system by 2041. Northgate Link will be followed in 2023 by the opening of service to Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond's Overlake community. Additional extensions to Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Kent/Des Moines, Federal Way and downtown Redmond are planned in 2024. Further light-rail extensions are scheduled to reach West Seattle, Fife and Tacoma in 2030; Ballard in 2035; Paine Field and Everett in 2036; and South Kirkland and Issaquah in 2041.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
