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About the Ballard Link Extension
The Ballard Link Extension (BLE) will provide fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers in the Chinatown-International District (CID), Downtown, South Lake Union, Uptown, Interbay, and Ballard neighborhoods. In addition, a new downtown Seattle light rail tunnel will provide capacity for the entire regional system to operate efficiently. The BLE is part of the Sound Transit 3 system expansion approved by voters in November 2016. The project is currently in the planning phase.
Ballard Link Extension
Adds 7.7 miles of light rail service from SODO to the Ballard neighborhood, including a new downtown Seattle rail-only tunnel.
Includes up to nine new stations from Chinatown-International District to Ballard.
Will greatly improve local and regional transit service frequency, reliability, and capacity.
Facilitates transit-oriented development around and above stations.
Start of service is scheduled for 2042*.
*Service from SODO to Seattle Center Station is scheduled to open in 2042. Construction from Seattle Center to Ballard is currently not affordable but could open at the same time if Sound Transit can further reduce project costs, increase financial capacity, and secure the remaining construction funding.
Ballard Link Extension project timeline
2016 Voter Approval
Alternatives development
ST Board identifies preferred and other WSBLE Draft EIS alternatives
WSBLE Draft EIS and public comment period
Further Studies
ST Board modifies the Preferred Alternative for BLE
NEPA scoping (we are here)
BLE Draft EIS publication and public comment period (2026)
ST Board confirms or modifies the BLE Preferred Alternative (2027)
BLE Final EIS (2027)
ST Board selects BLE project to be built (2028)
Procure final design and construction contracts
Obtain land use and construction permits
Begin property acquisition / relocation
Advance utility relocation / early work contracts
Demolition and clearing where necessary to build and operate the light rail guideway
Earth work such as stormwater systems, column footings, retaining walls and tunneling
Guideway and station construction
Ongoing conversations with anyone affected by construction
Safety education
Testing and preparations
2042 Scheduled start of service*
*Service from SODO to Seattle Center Station is scheduled to open in 2042. Construction from Seattle Center to Ballard is currently not affordable but could open at the same time if Sound Transit can further reduce project costs, increase financial capacity, and secure the remaining construction funding.
Ballard Link Extension project map
Preferred and other alternatives we are currently evaluating. | Click on image to enlarge
When the Draft EIS is published on Dec. 11, we will open a public comment period. We’ll share how to get involved through our online open house, social media, our email newsletter, and community networks.
You will be able to comment in several ways:
Online at the project website
By email, mail, or phone
At a virtual or in-person public hearing
Translated materials and interpretation provided in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish, and ASL.
Your feedback during the comment period will help the project team and the Sound Transit Board understand community priorities for route and station locations and inform the Board’s decision on modifying or confirming the preferred alternative for the project. The preferred alternative indicates a preference for alternatives based on currently available information. It is not a final decision on the project to be built.
Additional background
We published a combined Draft EIS for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions in 2022, followed by a public comment period. Since then, the projects have moved onto separate timelines after additional studies and community engagement led to new alternatives for the Ballard Link Extension.
The upcoming BLE Draft EIS will build upon and carry forward analysis of the alternatives included in the 2022 Draft EIS. It will also study refinements to alternatives and new alternatives identified by the Sound Transit Board in March and July 2023, following a period of further study and community engagement.
Sound Transit will further evaluate the preferred alternative and other alternatives in the Final EIS. It will include responses to substantive BLE Draft EIS comments and substantive comments from the 2022 West Seattle and Ballard Draft EIS that apply to both BLE and WSLE. Following the Final EIS, the Board will select the project to be built.
The purpose of the Project is to expand the Sound Transit Link light rail system from SODO to Ballard, to make appropriate community investments to improve mobility, and to increase capacity and connectivity for regional connections in order to achieve the following:
Provide high-quality rapid, reliable, and efficient light rail transit service to communities in the Project corridor as defined through the local planning process and reflected in the Sound Transit 3 Plan (Sound Transit 2016).
Improve regional mobility by increasing connectivity and capacity through Downtown Seattle to meet the projected transit demand.
Connect regional centers as described in adopted regional and local land use, transportation, and economic development plans and Sound Transit’s Regional Transit Long-Range Plan (Sound Transit 2014a).
Implement a system that is technically and financially feasible to build, operate, and maintain.
Expand mobility for the corridor and the region’s residents, which includes transit-dependent residents.
Encourage urban growth in station areas through support of transit-oriented development and multi-modal integration in a manner that is consistent with local land use plans and policies, including Sound Transit’s transit-oriented development policy (Sound Transit 2018).
Encourage convenient and safe non-motorized access to stations, such as bicycle and pedestrian connections, consistent with Sound Transit’s System Access Policy (Sound Transit 2013).
Preserve and promote a healthy environment and economy by minimizing adverse impacts on the natural, built, and social environments.
The need for the Project is as follows:
When measured using national standards, existing transit routes between Downtown Seattle and Ballard currently operate with poor reliability. Roadway congestion in the Project corridor will continue to degrade transit performance and reliability as the city is expected to add about 287,000 people and about 214,000 jobs between 2018 and 2050 (Puget Sound Regional Council 2023).
Increased ridership from regional population and employment growth will increase operational frequency in the existing Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, requiring additional tunnel capacity.
Puget Sound Regional Council (the regional metropolitan planning organization) and local land use and transportation plans call for high-capacity transit in the corridor consistent with the Regional Transit Long-Range Plan (Sound Transit 2014a).
The region’s residents and communities, including transit-dependent people, need long-term regional mobility and multi-modal connectivity as called for in the Washington State Growth Management Act (Revised Code of Washington 36.70A.108).
Regional and local land use and transportation plans call for increased residential and/or employment density at and around high-capacity transit stations and increased options for multi-modal access. The regional land use plan has a goal for 65 percent of the region’s population and 75 percent of the region’s employment to occur in regional growth centers and within walking distance of transit.
November 2016: Sound Transit 3 Ballot Measure
Sound Transit 3 (ST3) is approved by voters. This plan includes adding 62 new miles of light rail, totaling more than 116 miles with over 80 stations added to the region. Part of this plan includes the West Seattle Link and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE) projects, other projects like the bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on the Eastside, additional capacity for the Sounder South line, and access improvements to stations for all modes of travel.
2017 – 2019: WSBLE Alternatives Development
October 2017: West Seattle Link and Ballard Link Extensions project kicks off the planning phase of the project. The phase is part of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) environmental review process.
February – March 2018: Sound Transit hosts early scoping open houses and a comment period to collect public feedback on the ST3 representative project and gather new ideas to inform development of additional route and station location alternatives.
March 2018 – April 2019: Sound Transit develops and refines alternatives based on technical evaluations, as well as feedback from the public, Stakeholder Advisory Group, Elected Leadership Group, and Sound Transit Board of Directors. The project goes through three levels of evaluation between early scoping and scoping to help further refine alternatives.
February – March 2019: Sound Transit hosts scoping open houses and a comment period to collect public feedback on the alternatives to date and topics to study in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
May 2019: The Sound Transit Board reviews the alternatives, evaluation results, public feedback, and the recommendations of the Elected Leadership Group and identifies the preferred alternative and other alternatives to study in the WSBLE Draft EIS.
May – October 2019: The Sound Transit Board directs staff to conduct initial assessments on additional route and station options that were suggested during the public scoping period, to establish whether further study in the WSBLE Draft EIS is appropriate.
2019 – 2023: WSBLE Draft EIS and additional studies
May 2019 – December 2021: Sound Transit develops the WSBLE Draft EIS, a document that describes the multiple alternatives being considered, and how each alternative might affect the natural and built environment and transportation systems, both during construction and final operation of the light rail lines.
November 2019 – January 2020: Sound Transit conducts extensive engagement efforts to gather public feedback regarding WSBLE Station Planning. Sound Transit hosts neighborhood forums and community briefings throughout the project corridor.
November 2021 – May 2022: Sound Transit kicks off Community Advisory Groups to review and discuss WSBLE Draft EIS findings with community members throughout the corridor. Meetings are online and open to the public.
January 2022 – April 2022: The Draft EIS is published for a 90-day public review and comment period. Comments are accepted via email, mail, voicemail, comment form, at a virtual public hearing, or an in-person open house. All the details can be found here. Sound Transit receives over 5,000 comments. Additionally, in partnership with the City of Seattle and King County, Sound Transit publishes the WSBLE Station Planning Progress Report alongside the WSBLE Draft EIS to help communities understand the opportunities and challenges of the different alternatives.
July 2022: After reviewing the Draft EIS and the comments from Tribes, the public and agency partners, the Sound Transit Board identifies the preferred alternative for the West Seattle Link Extension (WSLE) and requested further studies for the Ballard Link Extension (BLE). Read the July 2022 Board Motion and press release for more information.
August 2022 – March 2023: Sound Transit conducts further studies that included six workshops and open houses and three online surveys for WSBLE. For an overview of the further studies conducted for both extensions and the results, read the Further Studies Executive Summary and reports.
March and July 2023: The Sound Transit Board identifies a preferred alternative for the BLE. Refinements to WSLE alternatives from the further studies are being incorporated into the WSLE Final EIS. Read the March Board Motion, July Board Motion, and press release for more information.
September 2023: Given additional environmental review needed for project refinements for BLE resulting from the Sound Transit Board action in March 2023, environmental review for the WSLE and BLE projects proceed on different timelines.
December 2023: The Sound Transit Board directs Sound Transit staff to conduct a feasibility study of a new alignment concept in the South Lake Union and Denny station area. Read the Board Motion for more information.
2024 – 2026: Ballard Link Extension’s Draft EIS and Final EIS
October–December 2024: Sound Transit holds NEPA scoping comment period to collect feedback on Purpose and Need, alternatives, and potential topics to be studied in the BLE Draft EIS.
2024 – 2026: Sound Transit and FTA develop BLE Draft EIS.
May 28, 2026: Sound Transit Board adopts Resolution R2026-11, updating the ST3 System Plan as part of the Enterprise Initiative, a comprehensive effort to reduce agency costs, increase funding, and deliver voter-approved transit improvements.
Alternatives
Choose a segment below to view the BLE route and station options. The preferred alternatives indicate a preference for alternatives based on currently available information, and is not a decision on the project to be built.
