Lawmakers are unhappy and want the reason why Sound Transit brings the project to another delay. The multi-billion project to link Tacoma and Seattle by light rail was delayed by Sound Transit which announced the delay for the Tacoma Dome Link Extension. This pushes the start of service back to 2035. The last delay pushed the start of service to 2032.
“This is disappointing and now, five years after it was promised to voters of the South Sound, we have to wait again,” said Ryan Mello, Pierce County Council chair. “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated. I believe Sound Transit must work to provide transportation options to the South Sound sooner rather than later; it is not an option to accept the delay with no mitigation.”
In a release, Mello offered several steps he and the rest of the Pierce County Council believe Sound Transit should take in the interim to address the South Sound’s transportation needs.
-Increasing opportunities for people to use Sounder Commuter Rail services throughout Pierce County, including more daily train runs to the South Sound, an extension to DuPont as quickly as possible, and better, safer station access.
-Increasing Sound Transit ground transportation options with an expansion of express bus route services and frequency between Pierce County and King County.
-Partnering with Pierce Transit (PT) to increase point-to-point transportation options like dial-a-lift or the PT runner to connect to ST express bus service stations and Sounder train stations.
The board of Sound Transit will review the potential additions before acting on March 23 to determine if they should be studied in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
If the additional alternative stations warrant consideration, the draft EIS would be anticipated to publish in 2024. This is a three-year delay from the last projected opening of 2032. The project initially was approved in 2016 and scheduled to open in 2030.
