Fed Financing For UW Link Up To 40 percent

Wow! The federal government has now assigned over $800 million to the project that will bring Light Rail to UW Stadium. Incidentally, it looks like we're going to have a whole lotta digging in the Central Puget Sound over the next few years, for this project, other Light Rail projects, and replacement tunnel for The Viaduct.

We'll need to start calling Capitol Hill by "Mole Mountain" instead!

Light Rail U-Link Contract Bid Below Estimate

The first major bid from a contractor for building the Sound Transit U-Link from Downtown Seattle to the UW is a stunning 34% below estimates. Some analysts are attributing this to the economy's downturn, which makes for heavy competition from contractors looking for work. Of course the bid is being checked over, to make sure it's not a fantasy lowball number.

In the article linked above we also discover that the segment of Interstate 5 that runs through the area served by the proposed link operates at levels "over capacity" for up to 8 hours a day. It's not surprising to me; since the 1980s a person hasn't been able to even go southbound on a Saturday through this area, without hitting heavy congestion. And with population in that area predicted to grow, it's no wonder the U-Link project got high priority in DC when federal money was doled out.

This is exciting stuff for a railfan like me, because it's like the rebirth of The Interurban!

New Seattle Streetcar Lines Proposed

Seattle passed $600 million city streetcar proposal that would add lines to Capital Hill/First Hill, Ballard, and the U-District. Of course there are opponents and proponents already, within hours of the vote, which is the Seattle way; nobody agrees on how to execute or even fund the work, so it ends up getting delayed and more costly. In the end Seattle will have the most expensive streetcar lines ever, because of warring factions.

Oh, did I go off on a tangient? Sorry...I just want to see more streetcars and few buses on the streets of Seattle!

Sound Transit's UW Link Gets Fed Funding

In November Sound Transit got its $813 million funding boost from the federal government, for the UW Link for Light Rail. Check out their handy interactive map to see what that link will look like!