Sound Transit announces opening day for light rail connecting Seattle and Bellevue
March 28 is going to be a big day.
That's when Crosslake Connection, the new link light rail across Lake Washington on the I-90 bridge, is slated to officially open to passengers — finally connecting Seattle and the Eastside.
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Sound Transit announced the long-awaited opening date Friday. This last segment of the 2 Line includes two new stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park, and completes the regional transit system expansion voters approved in 2008. The light rail system now spans 63 miles.
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Local leaders called the opening day announcement a "milestone" on Friday, considering all the challenges the project has faced over the last two-plus decades.
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"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," Claudia Balducci, King County councilmember and a member of Sound Transit's board, said in a statement. "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."
Officials also celebrated how the new light rail connection can better connect Seattle and the Eastside, economically and otherwise.
"The completion of the 2 Line exponentially expands employment, housing, and recreation opportunities for people on the east and west sides of Lake Washington,” King County Executive and Sound Transit Boardmember Girmay Zahilay said in a statement.
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Trains will run across Lake Washington every eight minutes during peak times at these new stations, and every 10-15 minutes the rest of the day, according to a news release from Sound Transit.
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Service will run on both the 1 and 2 Lines from around 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays.
