Seattle City Councilmember (District 6) and Sound Transit Boardmember Dan Strauss is hosting a community form discussing the Ballard Link Extension alongside several other elected officials and Sound Transit representatives. The forum will be held in the Osberg Great Hall at the National Nordic Museum on Monday, October 19, from 6-8pm.
In a newsletter emailed to constituents last week, Dan Strauss announced the event while highlighting his efforts to get Sound Transit to commit to building the full Ballard Link Extension to Market Street. These included requiring Sound Transit staff to determine when the agency would be able to complete the Ballard Link Extension under current conditions, and looking for ways to reduce project costs in order to open the extension sooner. Currently, the agency expects to open the SODO to Seattle Center portion of the Ballard Link Extension in 2042.
In July, Sound Transit fulfilled Strauss’ first requirement with the announcement the rest of the project could be delayed to 2060 unless significant cost savings are found. When voters passed ST3 in 2016, the entire Ballard Link Extension was expected to open in 2035. In 2021, this schedule slipped to 2037 or 2039 as Sound Transit realized the cost to build a second Link-only tunnel under downtown and managing other complications would far exceed expectations. After calculating “bottom-up” cost estimates for the proposed design of the extension last year, the agency found the full project could cost nearly twice its previous estimate. Compounded with exploding cost estimates across ST3, the Sound Transit Board voted to defer construction of line past Seattle Center until costs were reduced or additional revenue were found.
Sound Transit says it may be able to open the full extension in 2042 if the agency can reduce the total estimated cost by $1 billion (or identify that much in new revenue), begin acquiring property by 2030, finish design by 2032, and lock in funding to start construction by 2033. Regardless, Ballard Link advocates remain dedicated to pushing Sound Transit to return to the originally promised date of opening in 2035.
At the community forum, Sound Transit is expected to share more about its proposed timeline for the Ballard Link Extension, the work agency staff have been doing to reduce costs, and its next steps for the project. There will also be a Q&A session.
Those interested in a seat should probably arrive early. The National Nordic Museum is located at the intersection of 28th Ave NW and NW Market Street, just under a mile west of the planned terminus of the Ballard Link Extension. Nearby bus stops are served by King County Metro Routes 17 and 44.
