Crosslake Connection opens March 28

Sound Transit announced today that the Crosslake Connection will open for passenger service on March 28. This final component of the 2 Line will cross Lake Washington and connect with the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown Station, creating a fully integrated regional light rail system.

The final segment of East Link includes new stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park and completes the regional transit system expansion approved by voters in 2008 under ST2, increasing the light rail system from 55 to 63 miles.

The 2 Line will operate between Lynnwood and Redmond, in addition to the 1 Line between Federal Way and Lynnwood. Service will run on the 1 and 2 Lines from approximately 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday - Saturday and from 6 a.m. - midnight on Sundays.

Trains will run approximately every 8 minutes during peak times at the new stations, and between 10-15 minutes the rest of the day. Combined 1 Line and 2 Line headways between Lynnwood and International District/Chinatown will be every 4 minutes, providing additional capacity through the busy core 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,” said Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers. “I applaud all those who worked on this project, and I appreciate the patience of the traveling public as the project worked through many barriers. 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.”

“The completion of the 2 Line exponentially expands employment, housing and recreation opportunities for people on the east and west sides of Lake Washington,” said King County Executive and Sound Transit Boardmember Girmay Zahilay. “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.”

“WSDOT operates the longest floating bridge in the world and now operates the only floating bridge in the world that carries light rail. We’re proud to partner with Sound Transit on this important project, which will better connect the region and increase capacity in some of our busiest corridors,” said Washington Secretary of Transportation and Sound Transit Boardmember Julie Meredith.

“Today we announce a date that has been over two decades in the making – the full opening of East Link light rail,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci. “Conceived in the early 2000s and approved by the voters in 2008, this project has faced challenges of every kind. There was fierce opposition to the very idea of rail in East King County, a failed ballot measure, local political challenges, court cases, design and construction challenges, a world-wide pandemic, a concrete delivery strike, multiple financial cycles with major cost impacts, and maybe the biggest challenge of all – engineering and constructing a fixed rail system on a floating bridge for the first time in world history. 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. I am deeply grateful to the agency, contractors and partners who answered the call to open Eastside light rail ahead of the bridge – that innovative approach kept the Redmond station openings on schedule and has served the public well, as evidenced by growing ridership on the Eastside. As the Eastside continues to grow and thrive, this moment represents more than just a transit opening, it demonstrates all this region can achieve when we commit to audacious goals and persevere to get things done.”

“If you build it, they will come,” said Seattle Mayor and Sound Transit Boardmember Katie Wilson. “The Crosslake Connection unlocks worlds of opportunity for transit riders like me, and I’m so excited to welcome new riders as the system grows. Our whole region deserves world-class mass transit, so let’s continue expanding the network and delivering on what voters were promised.”

“The opening of the Crosslake Connection is a major milestone in the continued expansion of Sound Transit’s regional system,” said Redmond Mayor and Sound Transit Boardmember Angela Birney. “By linking Seattle and the Eastside, this long-awaited connection will improve access across the region and make the network more useful for everyone. We can’t wait to celebrate with the community on March 28.”

“This extension connects east and west, connects the 1 and 2 Lines, vastly improving mobility and quality of life in our region,” said Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine. “It’s a transformational achievement that took grit, persistence and ingenuity, and it fulfills a generational promise of uniting both sides of Lake Washington with high-capacity transit.”

To complete the 2 Line and connect to the Eastside, Sound Transit engineers had to do something that had never been done before – design light rail on a floating bridge. This world-first achievement was made possible by innovative engineering to address the unique challenges of running electric trains across a moving body of water. A video about the design solutions that made the Crosslake Connection possible is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tImk5T3iiU.

With the opening of the full 2 Line, Sound Transit has begun operating six new light rail expansions in five years. Pinehurst Station is expected to open later this year.

Details about opening day will be posted at soundtransit.org/crosslake as they are finalized. Check back often to stay up to date.

Photos and video are at https://soundtransit.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000o_lBWcrn8sA/G0000Knq92l6XMRM/Crosslake-Connection