3 Line (Sound Transit)

3 Line
Overview
StatusPlanned
OwnerSound Transit
LocaleSeattle metropolitan area, Washington, US
Termini
Stations25 (9 new, 1 provisional)
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemLink light rail
History
Planned opening2032 (West Seattle)
2037 (Southwest Everett)
2041 (Downtown Everett)[1]
Technical
Number of tracks2
CharacterUnderground, elevated, and surface
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 1,500 V DC
Operating speed55 miles per hour (89 km/h)
Route map

Legend
Provisional route
 Everett Station (2041)
Amtrak Cascades Sounder commuter rail Swift Blue Line Parking
 SR 526/Evergreen
SW Everett Industrial Center (2037)
SR 99/Airport Road (provisional)
Mariner
Ash Way
West Alderwood
Up arrow Everett Link Extension
 Lynnwood City Center
Sound Transit Express Parking
 Mountlake Terrace
Parking
 Shoreline North/185th
Swift Blue Line Parking
 Shoreline South/148th
Parking
 NE 130th Street (2026)
Northgate
Parking
 Roosevelt
U District
University of Washington
Montlake Cut
 Capitol Hill
First Hill Streetcar
to Ballard
 Westlake
Seattle Center Monorail South Lake Union Streetcar
 Symphony
Pioneer Square
Colman Dock
International District/
Chinatown
Amtrak Cascades Sounder commuter rail First Hill Streetcar
to Downtown Redmond
(2025)
 Stadium
Greyhound Lines
reroute
 SODO
to Federal Way Downtown
Down arrow West Seattle Link Extension (2032)
Duwamish Waterway
 Delridge
Avalon
Alaska Junction
This diagram:

The 3 Line (colored magenta) is a future light rail line in the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington, to be part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It is planned to connect Everett and Snohomish County to Downtown Seattle and West Seattle. The 3 Line would share tracks with the 2 Line from southern Everett to International District/Chinatown station along the 1 Line corridor.[2]

The line is planned to reuse existing tracks that are part of the 1 Line and its future expansions; the 1 Line will then be rerouted through a new Downtown Seattle tunnel to be built for the Ballard Link Extension.[3] The 16.3-mile (26.2 km) Everett Link Extension to the north of Lynnwood will have six stations and is scheduled to open between 2037 and 2041.[4] The 4.7-mile-long (7.6 km) West Seattle Link Extension will include three new stations southwest of SODO station and is scheduled to open in 2032.[5] The 3 Line was created as part of the Sound Transit 3 program, approved by voters in 2016, which included both projects.[6]

The West Seattle Link Extension would include a high bridge crossing the Duwamish River adjacent to the existing West Seattle Bridge. In 2024, Sound Transit and HNTB proposed a cable-stayed bridge design that would be 1,690 feet (520 m) long and have two towers that are 374 feet (114 m) tall.[7] The project is expected to cost $4 billion to construct and carry 28,000 daily passengers.[8]

The Everett Link Extension includes a new operations and maintenance facility that is scheduled to open in 2034 at one of three sites near Paine Field and the Boeing Everett Factory.[9] The project is estimated to cost between $5.05 billion and $6.9 billion and open either as a single phase in 2037 with its funding shortfall addressed or in two phases from 2037 to 2041.[10]

  1. ^ "Everett Link Extension: Timeline and milestones". Sound Transit. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Sound Transit future service (PDF) (Map). Sound Transit. August 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "2022 Progress Report". Sound Transit. February 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Watanabe, Ben (December 8, 2021). "City of Everett outlines light rail priorities for 2037". The Everett Herald. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions: Expanding light rail in Seattle" (PDF). Sound Transit. August 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Lindblom, Mike (October 24, 2019). "Pricier light-rail tunnels into Ballard and West Seattle fall by the wayside". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Miller, Brian (August 19, 2024). "Behold! Sound Transit shows 'diamond pylon' span over Duwamish". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Lindblom, Mike (November 12, 2023). "West Seattle's light-rail path finally takes shape, at a price". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Everett Link Extension fact sheet" (PDF). Sound Transit. September 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Lindblom, Mike (June 23, 2023). "Sound Transit charts its long light-rail journey to Everett". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 4, 2024.