Sound Transit announces Northgate Link Roosevelt Station construction nearly complete

Sound Transit has announced construction at the Roosevelt Station of the Northgate Link Extension is more than 95 percent complete, with the extension’s service slated to open in 2021. 

The station is the first of the three new stations on the 4.3-mile extension to achieve this milestone. The other stations—U District and Northgate—are expected to reach substantial completion by spring 2020. Construction on the extension overall is more than 90 percent complete.  

"Our progress on the Northgate Link extension reminds commuters that transformative changes to how we get around the Puget Sound are just around the corner," said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. "In less than two years, the opening of Northgate Link will herald the beginning of a remarkable three-year stretch that will extend light-rail service to Bellevue, Redmond, Lynnwood, Federal Way and the Tacoma Hilltop neighborhood and offer travelers a reliable alternative to soul-crushing highway congestion."  

Construction on the Northgate Extension and the Roosevelt Station began in 2012. The Roosevelt Station will feature a neighborhood icon, the neon Standard Radio sign that adorned a building that stood on the site of the new station. The agency has restored the sign and reused the building’s unusual Vitrolite glass façade, recently installing both in the station’s south entrance.  

Progress at the station in the past several months also included installation of heavy-duty escalators suitable for transit. The streets and sidewalks around the station were re-opened late last month. The new station will have 44 exterior bicycle rack spaces, 10 on-demand bicycle locker spaces and 20 bicycle cage spaces, with capacity to add 20 more. 

Work at the Roosevelt Station is now focused on systems installation. Construction crews are also completing landscaping and architectural finishes. When completed, riders will be able to travel from Roosevelt Station to downtown Seattle in just 11 minutes and to SeaTac Airport in 45 minutes.  

The Roosevelt Station will offer three potential sites for transit-oriented development. The largest, Cedar Crossing, will provide approximately 254 affordable housing units on a 1.2-acre property adjacent to the north station building, including 87 two- and three-bedroom units for larger families. A public plaza, childcare center and ground-floor retail will provide services for transit riders and the broader neighborhood.  Sound Transit and the Seattle Office of Housing partnered to create affordable housing adjacent to the station by offering the property at a discounted land price, as well as up to $15 million in pre-committed affordable housing financing from the city of Seattle. Bellwether Housing and Mercy Housing Northwest are developing the project, which is anticipated to open in 2022.  

When completed, the Northgate light-rail extension will offer riders a reliable, traffic-free alternative to congested traffic. An estimated 41,000 and 49,000 riders are expected to travel on the extension daily by 2022, according to Sound Transit, 

Sound Transit is simultaneously working to extend light rail north, south, east and west. 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.