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    1. Rail
    2. Maintenance

    Preferred alternative for Sound Transit’s OMF South identified

    Dec. 20, 2021
    The preferred alternative will undergo further evaluation along with two other sites before a final decision is made on where to locate the light-rail maintenance facility.
    Related To: Sound Transit
    Sound Transit
    The interior of an existing OMF; Sound Transit has named a preferred alternative for its OMF South facility and will continue to study it, as well as two additional locations before a final decision is made.
    The interior of an existing OMF; Sound Transit has named a preferred alternative for its OMF South facility and will continue to study it, as well as two additional locations before a final decision is made.

    The Sound Transit Board named the South 336th Street location in Federal Way as the preferred alternative to study for a new Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) South located in South King County. A new OMF in the South Sound is needed to store and service the agency’s light-rail fleet to support its extensions to Tacoma, West Seattle and elsewhere in the region.

    The preferred alternative will undergo additional study along with the two alternative sites as part of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) scheduled for publication in 2022 before a final location will be selected.

    The Board weighed community priorities, input from Native American tribes, agencies and cities as well as a technical study consisting of more than three years of analysis. The OMF South will serve Sound Transit’s growing light rail fleet as the agency continues to expand congestion-free light rail across the region. The facility will generate approximately 470 full-time living wage, union-supported jobs.

    "Having been in the trenches when we sited the Operation and Maintenance Facility East in Bellevue, I know these decisions are never easy," King County Council Chair and Sound Transit System Expansion Committee Chair Claudia Balducci said. "Reaching agreement on the South 336th Street Alternative required a lot of detailed technical work and analysis from staff, substantive engagement with neighbors and other stakeholders, and diligent deliberation by Boardmembers, especially those members of the System Expansion Committee. I’m glad we found a solution that fulfills the project goals while balancing the impacts to the surrounding community."

    In May 2019, the Sound Transit Board identified three sites to be studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for OMF South:

    • Midway Landfill and Interstate 5 (I-5) – The site is located south of South 246th Street, west of and adjacent to I-5 and sits mostly on a former superfund landfill site.
    • South 336th Street and I-5 – The site is located in the City of Federal Way, west of I-5 and south of South 336th Street.
    • South 344th Street and I-5 – The site is located in the City of Federal Way, west of I-5 and north of South 344th Street.

    Following issuance of the FEIS, the Board is expected to select the project to be built in late 2022. Final design, construction and testing of the facility are scheduled to take place from late 2024 – 2028, with the new facility opening in 2029.

    Sound Transit currently operates one OMF in Seattle and another facility in Bellevue. In addition to studying potential locations for an OMF in South King County, the agency will also require a new OMF in Sound Transit’s North Corridor.