Local

Supporters want more Sound Transit lines; cost questions remain

Supporters of the Sound Transit Link light rail network are pitching a new public vote in 2024 – one they hope will extend light rail to areas including Lake City, Shoreline, White Center, Sand Point, Georgetown and South Park.

“The only way to avoid short-changing the potential of our investments in ST3, including a brand-new downtown subway tunnel, is to plan ahead with a Seattle-focused ST4 plan,” a release from the volunteer pro-transit group Seattle Subway reads.

The total costs for a potential Sound Transit 4 plan are unclear.

In 2016, voters approved a $53.8 billion Sound Transit 3 package – the largest voter-approved measure in state history. The property tax, car-tab and sales-tax increases are expected to last at least three decades. See KIRO 7's previous coverage of Sound Transit 3 below.

The costs are already more than expected, in part because estimates for the West Seattle to Ballard project was done in 2014 without adjusting for inflation. Follow this link to see details of those overruns, which could be as much as $2 billion. 

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