SEATTLE — Sound Transit has launched construction of the $1.53-billion, 3.4-mile extension of its light rail Blue Line, also under construction, to southeast and downtown Redmond, Wash., on the eastside of Lake Washington in the Puget Sound region.
The extension, using both ground-level and elevated tracks, will start from Redmond Technology Station, located near Microsoft’s main campus, and add two stations. It’s scheduled to open in 2024, just a year after the line connecting Seattle to the Eastside is opened.
Sound Transit said the Redmond extension could see ridership of 43,000 to 52,000 a day by 2026. Trains will run every 8 minutes during peak weekday commutes.
Sound Transit has multiple construction projects under way at the moment. In addition to the Eastside projects, the agency is working on an extension of its main north-south line north from the University of Washington to Northgate and Lynnwood, and of its Tacoma light rail line.
