Sound Transit announced Friday that the Crosslake Connection, the final segment of the 2 Line, will open for passenger service March 28, completing a regional light rail link across Lake Washington.
The Crosslake Connection will carry light rail trains over Lake Washington and connect the 2 Line with the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown Station.
The opening creates a fully integrated regional light rail system serving communities on both sides of the lake.
The final segment of East Link includes new stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park.
It completes the voter-approved Sound Transit 2 expansion from 2008, increasing the light rail system from 55 miles to 63 miles.
Once the Crosslake Connection opens, the 2 Line will operate between Lynnwood and Redmond, while the 1 Line will continue running between Federal Way and Lynnwood.
Trains on both lines will operate from about 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays.
Trains will arrive about every eight minutes during peak times at the new stations and every 10 to 15 minutes during most of the day.
Combined service on the 1 and 2 Lines between Lynnwood and International District/Chinatown will run every four minutes, adding capacity through the busiest section of the system.
“After decades of hard work, creative design, and world-class engineering, we are finally linking the east and west sides of Lake Washington with rail,” Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers said. “Today is a very important milestone, and we look forward to Link light rail connecting Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue in the not-too-distant future.”
King County Executive and Sound Transit Boardmember Girmay Zahilay said the opening will significantly expand access across the region.
“When the 2 Line opens, it will serve 26 stations and more than 35 miles, while knitting together five King County cities and two Snohomish County cities, creating new transit hubs throughout the region,” Zahilay said.
The project includes what Sound Transit described as a world-first engineering achievement: operating light rail on a floating bridge.
Engineers designed the system to accommodate movement across the water, making the Crosslake Connection the only floating bridge in the world that carries light rail.
“WSDOT operates the longest floating bridge in the world and now operates the only floating bridge in the world that carries light rail,” Washington Secretary of Transportation Julie Meredith said. “We’re proud to partner with Sound Transit on this important project.”
King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci said the project faced decades of challenges, including political opposition, court cases, construction obstacles, a global pandemic and major cost pressures.
“I could not be more proud of the thousands of people who have poured their efforts, energy, creativity and passion into this project over so many years,” Balducci said.
Seattle Mayor and Sound Transit Boardmember Katie Wilson said the new connection will expand opportunities for riders across the region.
“The Crosslake Connection unlocks worlds of opportunity for transit riders like me,” Wilson said. “Our whole region deserves world-class mass transit.”
Sound Transit said the opening of the full 2 Line marks the sixth light rail expansion the agency has put into service in the past five years.
Pinehurst Station is expected to open later this year.