The U District Station under construction in 2020 (Image: Sound Transit)
Sound Transit has announced an opening date for its Northgate Link light rail expansion that will open up the great northlands of Seattle including the University District, Roosevelt, and Northgate to riders from Capitol Hill Station and beyond:
Today, we are officially announcing the opening date for passenger service on Northgate Link. Mark your calendars for October 2 and get ready to ride! The 4.3 mile light rail extension has three stations: two underground serving the U District and Roosevelt neighborhoods, and one elevated station at Northgate. The opening will coincide with service changes on ST Express, King County Metro Transit and Community Transit bus routes that will be modified to allow riders to connect with congestion-free Link service. Voters approved the Northgate Link extension in 2008 as part of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure. Construction on the project began in 2012 following six years of planning. Twin boring machines began tunneling in 2014, completing the 3.5-mile twin tunnels in 2016.
The planned opening comes amid a pandemic-muted celebration of the fifth anniversary of the opening of Capitol Hill Station and its University Link expansion extending light rail from downtown to Husky Stadium under Capitol Hill.
More light rail is coming. Judkins Park Station — and its Hendrix inspired design — is slated to open in 2023 along with the rest of the 10-stop, voter initiative-funded East Link light rail line that will dramatically expand Sound Transit rail service in the region. The Central District station, tucked into I-90 between Rainier Ave and 23rd Ave, will be the first stop on the line that will connect Bellevue, Redmond, and Seattle across the I-90 bridge.
But first, let’s think about visiting Brooklyn in only a few minutes ride:
Construction goes beyond the station itself, as workers have prepared nearby streets for a larger influx of pedestrian traffic by repaving and widening sidewalks, as well as installing trees and light poles. Work on the northern side of 43rd Street was recently completed, with the focus shifting at the beginning of this month to the area between the Ave and the station along the south side of the street, where new sidewalks are being poured and curb ramps are being installed.
With the Northgate link’s completion, Sound Transit says is entering “an exciting period of opening major light rail extensions every year through 2024, nearly tripling the region’s light rail system from 22 miles to 62 miles.”
You can learn more at soundtransit.org.
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Looking at those dates is sad, we are really slow at building transit. I hope the new stations have better scalators.
I appreciate how they’re making the stations all art-y, but they also have to maintain them. The hanging sculpture in cap hill station looks cool, but it’s covered in dust. I’m dying to take a wet rag to it every time I go down the escalator.
Oh yeah, I’ve had the same thought. I think other metros don’t have so many elevated flat surfaces dust can settle on like these stations.
As a cyclist, I’ve been pretty spoiled that it was so easy to get on at Husky Stadium for some easy elevation. Sometimes there’d only be one or two other cyclists and a similar number of riders who didn’t have bikes (not peak hours, of course). I’ve heard from riders in South Seattle that using the Link to bypass some of the scary Rainier Ave sections doesn’t really work because there are too many other riders.
Hoping they increase the number of trains as necessary so I can still bring my bike aboard without getting side-eye from everyone.