Sound Transit breaks ground on Northgate light-rail extension

Seattle-area community members and government officials gathered on Friday to officially kick off construction on Sound Transit 2’s biggest project to date: the 4.3-mile Northgate Link light-rail extension.

The groundbreaking “represents a historic step toward delivering the 36 miles of light-rail extensions that voters approved in 2008,” said Sound Transit Chairman and Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy in a prepared statement.

The $2.1 billion Northgate Link extension will operate mostly underground through one of the most congested travel corridors in the region. When it opens in 2021, the line will accommodate fast and frequent service 20 hours daily, and provide connections to the University of Washington, Capitol Hill, downtown an south Seattle, Tukwila and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac), Sound Transit officials said.

“The Northgate Link light-rail extension is a big win for Seattle, bringing the region a step closer to completing a first class transportation system with seamless connections between downtown and SeaTac," said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff.

Northgate Link construction will start with demolition work in the Roosevelt area. Next year, Sound Transit plans to select a contractor to excavate the underground stations and use tunnel-boring machines to construct twin 3.7-mile tunnels from north of the Roosevelt neighborhood to the University of Washington Station. Tunneling is slated to begin in late 2014.

Other future contracts will cover construction of the Northgate Station and the elevated guideway to the tunnel portal; finishes at the U District Station; finishes at the Roosevelt Station; utility work; and systems and trackwork, Sound Transit officials said.