When asked if the Bellevue extension would open ahead of the World Cup as planned, Harrell said he “wouldn’t make any promises.”
SEATTLE — Despite a funding shortfall amounting to tens of billions of dollars, Seattle and King County officials are rallying to press forward with light rail extension plans, particularly to Ballard and West Seattle.
Sound Transit’s Board of Directors was informed last week that the agency faces a $22 billion to $30 billion funding gap in its quest to expand the Link light rail. The increases are mainly due to inflation, complex project delivery, tariffs, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, increased scope and the purchase or lease of real estate, the agency said.
While Sound Transit is just beginning to grapple with what this funding gap means for its ongoing and planned projects, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss and King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda urged progress on the Seattle light rail extensions anyway.
“This is real money. These are real challenges. However, we cannot and will not derail our commitment to Seattle voters who overwhelmingly supported this transformative investment,” Harrell said. If work on the West Seattle and Ballard light rail extensions were to be delayed, there would be “no new light rail construction in Seattle for at least four years,” he continued.
Harrell said Seattle was willing to expedite permitting processes, lend their own engineering and planning employees to the projects and speed up the timelines in order to bring down costs for the two extensions.
The Seattle City Council Transportation Committee will consider legislation Thursday that frees up budget resources to ensure the city has the personnel to commit to the projects as soon as they’re ready to move forward.
Whether any ongoing construction will face delays due to budget constraints was unclear. When asked if the Bellevue extension would open by the FIFA World Cup next summer, as hoped for, Harrell said he believed they were in good shape, but that he “wouldn’t make any promises.”
Executive Director of the Transportation Choice Coalition Kirk Hovenkotter also spoke to reinforce the enthusiasm Seattle residents have for an expanded public transit system.
“Light rail is more popular than the Kraken, or the return of the Supersonics,” Hovenkotter said. “The excitement for these projects is palpable. The message from voters, riders and the public is clear: Build the damn trains.”
Sound Transit is expected to introduce a cost-saving work plan later this month. Beyond that, the immediate impacts of the budget shortfall are unclear.
