Ballard big loser in Sound Transit light rail reboot

(The Center Square) – The Ballard section of Seattle is the big loser in a Sound Transit light rail system reboot that has left the community without funding for its planned train station.

Facing a $34.5 billion overall shortfall, the board of the transit system, after a six-hour marathon meeting on Thursday, voted to cut the majority of a light rail expansion link that would have connected the Chinatown/International District with Ballard

The line will now start in the Chinatown/International District and travel about three miles to the Seattle Center. That segment will cost more than $17 billion.

But that’s four miles short of Ballard in miles and $7 to $9 billion short in cash to finish the line.

Two other stops between Seattle Center and Ballard, Smith’s Cove and InterBay, also fell to the chopping block.

Seattle City Councilman Dan Strauss, who represents Ballard and also sits on the Sound Transit Board, said Read Entire Article