Imagine traveling from Roosevelt to downtown Seattle in just 10 minutes and to SeaTac Airport in 45 minutes. It's just two years away!
Construction at Roosevelt Station, part of the Northgate Link Extension, is now more than 95 percent complete – an important step toward the start of service in 2021.
Roosevelt is the first of the three new stations on the 4.3 mile extension to achieve this milestone. The others, U District and Northgate stations, are expected to reach substantial completion by spring 2020.
Construction on the overall extension, which began in 2012, is more than 90 percent complete.
Preserving local history
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.
New features
Good news for cyclists: 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.
The streets and sidewalks around the station were re-opened late last month.
Progress at the station in the past several months also included installation of heavy-duty escalators suitable for transit.
Housing in progress
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, child care 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 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.
Next steps
Work at the Roosevelt Station is now focused on systems installation. Construction crews are also completing landscaping and architectural finishes.
The Northgate light rail extension will offer riders a reliable alternative to sitting in congested traffic. An estimated 41,000 to 49,000 riders are expected to travel on the extension daily by 2022.
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.
Check our system expansion page for details on the growing regional light rail system.
More photos
Photos of the Roosevelt Station site showing progress to date are available here.
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Learn all about Northgate construction
Hopefully this isn't the first time you've run across our continuing coverage of Northgate Link construction.
Check out our past stories for more action shots and information.
Fresh pics: Laying rail around the region
Fresh pics: progress along Northgate Link Extension
Art that reflects and creates community
Here's an overview of the whole extension: