New Sound Transit Line opens but future lines are short funding

(The Center Square) – Seattle’s long delayed light rail link with the Eastside communities of Bellevue and Redmond opens on Saturday, part of an ambitious plan to build mass transit throughout the Puget Sound that is becoming more difficult to achieve because of funding shortfalls.

While the rail link is three years late, other part of the estimated $180 billion system, may never get built because the transit system is nearly $35 billion short of funding.

The transit line connecting downtown Seattle to West Seattle — the next link scheduled to open in 2032 — is the subject of intense debate by Sound Transit board members as to whether it should be scrapped or reduced.

Transit stations in the Ballard section of Seattle, in Everett, Tacoma and a whole transit line between Kirkland and Issaquah, are also in danger of being cut.

Numerous construction issues plagued the Sound Transit Seattle Eastside link including contractors incorrectly installing thousands of raised concrete str...