FTA 18-04
Contact: Melissa Sabatine, Tel.: (202) 366-4043
Email: Melissa.Sabatine@fta.dot.gov
Sunday, June 13, 2004

U.S. Department of Transportation Invests in Seattle’s Transportation Future
Provides Funding for Central Link Light Rail Project

        SEATTLE – Seattle is winning the battle against gridlock with the help of a $43.2 million grant announced today by U.S Federal Transit Administrator Jennifer L. Dorn. The grant to Sound Transit is for the continued construction a light rail line from downtown Seattle to Tukwila.

        "A good transit investment keeps giving back to the community for decades to come," Administrator Dorn said as she announced the grant to members of the Sound Transit Board of Directors. “This grant demonstrates the Bush Administration’s commitment to keeping Seattle’s economy moving.”

        Dorn told an audience gathered at Sound Transit’s Operations and Maintenance Facility that the Central Link Light Rail Transit Project will support Seattle’s economic growth by “easing congestion, increasing mobility and enhancing the livability of this world-class city.”

        Considered a vital cornerstone of the Seattle’s transportation future, the project is part of a regional transportation program that includes light and commuter rail and express bus service for three counties. The 14-mile Central Link Light Rail system will serve 11 stations from downtown Seattle to South 154th Street in Tukwila with 31 new environmentally-friendly electric propulsion light rail vehicles.

        The grant provides funds for the construction of the Pine Street and Beacon Hill tunnels and an operations and maintenance facility, and improvements to the Martin Luther King Jr. Way segments and E-3 Busway. The Central Link trains are expected to begin operating by 2009 and are predicted to carry 42,500 passengers a day by 2020.

        Dorn said the Bush Administration's investment in transit would help maintain that forward momentum. “Our economy is strong and getting stronger. And we want to ensure that Seattle and all of Washington State continue to benefit from this national upsurge. Through increased mobility, additional transportation options and congestion relief, we will keep America's economy moving forward,” she said.

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