FTA Issues Record of Decision approving West Seattle Link Extension

Sound Transit has received the Federal Transit Administration’s Record of Decision for the West Seattle Link Extension project. This major milestone allows the project to advance into the next stage of development, the design phase.

The 4.1-mile West Seattle light rail extension was approved by voters in 2016 as part of ST3, and today’s approval of environmental work is the culmination of the planning phase that began in 2017. In that time, the project team has worked closely with the West Seattle community and agency partners to develop an alignment and future station locations that will serve more than 24,000 riders a day and cut travel times from Alaska Junction to Westlake in half, while enhancing station access and the transfer experience from buses to light rail.

With this record of decision, Sound Transit will advance engineering and design on the route and station locations selected by the Board in October 2024. At the same time, Sound Transit is continuing work to inform a financially sound West Seattle Link Extension project, including financial, programmatic and project-level measures to improve affordability.