Light rail to Lynnwood opens

Starting today, passengers in Snohomish County and Shoreline will be able to avoid traffic congestion and use Link light rail to travel quickly and safely to downtown Seattle and SeaTac airport. The 8.5-mile extension of the 1 Line includes four stations, one at Lynnwood City Center, one at Mountlake Terrace, and two in Shoreline, as well as three new parking structures.

This is the third opening in the past year for Sound Transit. Last September, the T Line opened service to Hilltop, and in April the 2 Line opened between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology Stations. The Lynnwood opening heralds the start of even more transformative expansions, with the 2 Line expanded to downtown Redmond early next year, followed by the opening of the rest of the 2 Line later in 2025 and the start of service to Federal Way in 2026.

Voters approved the Lynnwood extension in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. The project broke ground almost five years to the day before service is beginning.

“The opening of Lynnwood light rail service is a major milestone for our region,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine. “For the first time, our light rail system connects two counties, bringing us closer to the vision of an integrated, high-capacity transit network for Central Puget Sound. This achievement is the result of community support, careful planning and construction, and sheer persistence. Now, it’s time for Snohomish County to hop aboard reliable, traffic-free, carbon-free Link light rail.”

“This is a historic day for Snohomish County,” said Sound Transit Board Vice Chair and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “The arrival of light rail marks the start of a transformative regional transit system that will change how we get around and that will provide widespread opportunities for our residents. It’s not just that we can get off of I-5, get out of our cars and enjoy a fast and reliable trip to our destination. Light rail is also helping our environment and ensuring that our economy remains strong for generations to come.”

“As Senate Appropriations Chair, when we went to negotiate, I put my foot down to protect Capital Investment Grants funding for the Lynnwood Link Extension, and told my colleagues on the other side, ‘You will not cut this public transit funding — not on my watch.’ I always bring Washington state into the negotiating room with me, and I will go to bat for public transportation — and projects like this — again and again,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. “The reality is, we are celebrating more than new light rail service for Lynnwood, Shoreline, and Mountlake Terrace—we are also opening the door to a new future for these communities — one that folks have been planning for, for a long time. We are not just building public transit — we are not just connecting bus stops, and light rail stops, and lines on a map: we are connecting growing small businesses with new workers, new customers, and new opportunities. We are connecting our communities and families to each other. And we are making communities more walkable, affordable — and livable.”

“Finally, light rail reaches Snohomish County,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said. “It has been a long wait, but opening the Lynnwood Link will cut travel time for riders to downtown Seattle in half and reduce the trip to Sea-Tac down to one traffic-free hour for an expected 50,000-plus daily riders.”

"You cannot have a big-league economy with little league infrastructure,” said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, the lead Democrat on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. “Thanks in part to historic federal investments, Sound Transit light rail has arrived in Snohomish County, and that means more jobs and opportunity for Northwest Washington. I will continue to support bold, long-term investments in public transit like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that are building a cleaner, greener, safer, and more accessible transportation system in the Pacific Northwest.”

“FTA is proud to help bring Link light rail to Snohomish County, expanding rapid transit access for hundreds of thousands of residents,” said Federal Transit Administration Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. “As the Link system continues to grow, it’s now easier than ever to reach UW, downtown, Sea-Tac, and destinations all over the region. Thank you to Sound Transit and all the community partners who delivered on this monumental project.”

“The opening of the Lynnwood link extension is a tremendous step toward connecting communities and building low carbon climate-friendly transportation options for Washington’s people,” said Tulalip Tribes Chairwoman Teri Gobin. “Public transportation is essential in bringing people together and boosting economic opportunities up and down the I-5 corridor. Tulalip is committed to continuing to partner with the state and regional governments to build strong communities and steward our land and resources for future generations.”

“The Northwest Washington Building and Construction Trade affiliates have been proud to be part of the Lynnwood Link project. It provides an essential service to the community, and it provided good paying jobs for the people who built it, as well as training and apprenticeship opportunities. Good things happen when labor and management partner on behalf of our communities,” said Todd Taylor, executive secretary of the Northwest Building and Construction Trades Council.

“It's hard to quantify my excitement to see the trains pull in and out of the Lynnwood City Center station, something that felt like a dream for so long,” said Sound Transit Board Member and Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell. “Lynnwood has been preparing for this milestone since the creation of our Legacy Lynnwood plan in 1993. This achievement would not have been possible without our community's incredible support, and for that, I am grateful.”

“The opening of Lynnwood Link is the biggest thing to happen in Snohomish County since the first 747 rolled out of the Boeing plant in 1967,” said State Sen. Marko Liias. “Light rail will enhance mobility, reduce congestion on critical corridors, and empower all of us to make new and different transportation choices. We have been waiting for this day for decades, I am thrilled it’s finally here.”

"Having the Lynnwood City Center Station open nearby means that other mentees will be able to come to Project Girl and get connected with other young women looking to connect with other likeminded young women,” said Logan Ruiz-Rijo and Gia Marrakesh, mentees at Project Girl, a mentoring program fostering the advancement of young women of color. “It opens new doors beyond Lynnwood and gives us a greater opportunity to explore Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region so we can go to cool new places together. It makes us feel like the world is a little bigger … more exciting and accessible." 

“The opening of Lynnwood Link is a testament to the hard work of the construction teams and Sound Transit staff who have worked for years to make this project a reality,” said Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman. “They persevered through the pandemic and a four-month concrete delivery strike to bring us to today’s celebration. Lynnwood Link’s opening also marks a transformative moment in Sound Transit’s history, as we enter Snohomish County. With the openings of the full 2 Line next year and the extension to Federal Way in 2026, we will have more than doubled the size of our system in just a few years, providing the residents of our region great options for easy, efficient travel to even more destinations.”

Stacy & Witbeck/Kiewit/Hoffman L200 JV and Skanska Constructors L300 JV executed the civil construction on the extension. Mass Electric completed the systems work, which included the overhead catenary, traction power, signaling, and communications. The $3.1 billion project budget included up to $1.17 billion from a Full Funding Grant Agreement executed by the Federal Transit Administration. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau executed a $658 million low-interest loan supporting the project, including new light rail vehicles and support facilities.

The Lynnwood extension will serve the following stations, all of them with multiple transit connections:

• Shoreline South/148^th Station. Located just northeast of I-5 at the NE 145th Street exit, the elevated Shoreline South/148th Station includes a parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces is part of the project.
• Shoreline North/185th Station. Located on the east side of I-5, the Shoreline North/185th Station serves Shoreline Stadium, the Shoreline Conference Center and the surrounding neighborhoods. Improved pedestrian pathways connect the station to the west side of I-5. A parking garage with approximately 500 new spaces is part of the project.
• Mountlake Terrace Station. Located east of I-5 at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center just north of 236th Street Southwest, west of Veterans Memorial Park, the elevated Mountlake Terrace Station straddles 236th Street Southwest, and is a short walk from the Mountlake Terrace Library, new city hall, and future Gateway transit-oriented development neighborhood. There are 890 existing garage parking spaces at the station.
• Lynnwood City Center. Located at the Lynnwood Transit Center, this elevated station serves one of the busiest transit centers in the region, with extensive connections to local and regional service. A new garage containing 1,670 parking stalls in a five-story structure opened last year.

A fifth station at NE 130^th Street in Seattle was added to the alignment as part of the ST3 ballot measure approved by voters in 2016. The new station will serve a growing residential neighborhood between the Northgate and Shoreline South/148th stations. The NE 130th Street station is scheduled to open in 2026.

Visit https://www.soundtransit.org/snocolink for maps and information about how to ride.