The Seattle-Tacoma region’s Sound Transit has selected the route, stations and expanded operation and maintenance facility for its Tacoma Link Expansion light rail extension project, and named former FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff its new CEO.
The 2.4-mile Tacoma Link Expansion will serve riders traveling between Tacoma’s Theater District and Stadium and Hilltop neighborhoods. It will run primarily in-street along Stadium Way, North 1st Street, Division Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr., Way, and will include one relocated station in the Theater District and six new stations: Stadium Way and South 4th Street, the Stadium District, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Division Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 6th Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South 11th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South 19th Street. The expansion also includes an expanded Tacoma Operations and Maintenance Facility at 824 E. 25th St., next to the existing maintenance facility.
The existing 1.6-mile light rail line serves six stations between the Theater District and the Tacoma Dome. Trains run every 12 minutes and provide nearly one million rides per year.
During the next two years, Sound Transit staff will advance engineering work on the $175 million expansion. Assuming all project funding is secured, construction would begin in 2018. To date, the city has secured $33 million in federal and state grants toward the expansion and has committed to identifying an additional $7 million to complete its $40 million contribution to the project.
“By extending light rail to the Stadium Way and Hilltop districts, more people will have better access to jobs, schools and everyday needs,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine. “We’ll also work with residents to make sure that transit supports and enhances the unique character of their communities.”
The Sound Transit Board unanimously selected former Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff (pictured) as the agency’s new CEO. Rogoff will start in January 2016 following board confirmation of contract details in December. Current Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl, who has been on medical leave, will retire in March 2016 following the opening of the University Link LRT line. Deputy CEO Mike Harbour, who did not apply for the CEO position, will continue to serve as the agency’s acting CEO until Rogoff’s arrival.