Alignment Selected for West Seattle Link Extension

On Oct. 24, 2024, the Sound Transit Board selected the current preferred alternative as the project to be built for the West Seattle Link Extension (WSLE), a step to completing the environmental review phase and allowing the project to proceed into design. This decision includes the light rail route, profile, and station locations for WSLE as the project advances into the final design phase and was based on years of technical analysis and community feedback through Sound Transit’s study of multiple routes and station alternatives since 2017.

WSLE would add 4.1 miles of light rail service from SODO to West Seattle’s Alaska Junction neighborhood. This project includes four new stations in SODO, Delridge, Avalon, and the Alaska Junction. WSLE is part of the Sound Transit 3 Plan (ST3) of regional transit system investments, approved for funding by voters in the region in 2016. WSLE will provide fast, frequent, and reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers throughout the region.

This extension will reduce travel time from Alaska Junction to Westlake station by 50% at peak hours once the Ballard Link Extension is complete, taking only 16 minutes. The extension will improve transit service frequency, reliability, and capacity. Partnering on opportunities for development near stations, including affordable housing and other equitable transit-oriented development, will help support communities with direct access to transit. Additionally, WSLE will provide a travel alternative if the West Seattle Bridge is congested or closed for repairs. By 2042, WSLE will carry an estimated 24,000 to 27,000 riders daily.

Next steps
Sound Transit anticipates the Federal Transit Administration to issue a Record of Decision this year under the National Environmental Policy Act. With that, the project will begin final design as well as develop and implement a workplan to improve the agency’s financial situation and move WSLE through design to inform a financially sound project to be baselined. Construction is expected to start in 2027.