Sound Transit 3 Plan (ST3)
On Thursday, May 28th, the Sound Transit Board voted 16-2 to adopt an updated Sound Transit 3 (ST3) system plan that keeps the long-awaited Everett Link light rail extension on schedule while delaying or scaling back several other projects to address a $34.5 billion budget shortfall.
This comes as a big relief to the City of Everett with city growth aimed towards light rail, including the $125 million stadium project.
Approval to extend light rail to Everett came after a nearly six-hour meeting, proceeded bymonths of lobbying by Snohomish County leaders. Board Chair Dave Somers, Snohomish County Executive, described the plan as “a starting point, not an end point” for completing the voter-approved program.
Key Projects Funded
The revised plan fully funds the Everett Link Extension, with service reaching South Everett (128th Street) by 2037 and Downtown Everett (Smith Avenue) by 2041. It also preserves:
- Tacoma Dome Link Extension
- West Seattle Link (without the Avalon Station)
- T Line extension to Tacoma Community College
- Critical maintenance facilities
Ballard Link received only partial funding — enough to design and build as far as Seattle Center — while the segment onward to Market Street in Ballard will be fully designed but await future construction funding. The Issaquah/Kirkland 4 Line is delayed six years, with a new target opening in 2050.
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci and Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss casted the two “no” votes.
Addressing Skyrocketing Costs
Voters approved ST3 in 2016 with 54% support on a roughly $54 billion package promising light rail to Everett, Tacoma, Ballard, West Seattle, and Issaquah, plus other improvements. Since then, inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages, tariffs, and rising right-of-way costs ballooned the price tag, creating the massive shortfall.
Everett’s extension saw more moderate cost growth — from an original $6.5 billion to about $7.7 billion — compared with the Ballard project, whose estimated cost nearly doubled to as much as $22.6 billion. Sound Transit said design changes helped keep Everett on track without cutting any of its six planned stations.
Regional Reactions
Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin praised the board’s decision to complete the north-south light rail “spine.”
“I really appreciate this entire board’s support of delivering on the spine. We’ve seen the positive transformational changes that light rail has brought to communities, so delivering on this proposal is about that. It’s about shared prosperity across the entire region.”
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson highlighted that the plan allows West Seattle work — including property acquisition — to continue without delay. Somers and other board members expressed commitment to eventually finishing the full Ballard extension once funding is secured.
Trade-offs and Savings
To help close the gap, the plan defers parking structures along the Everett Link Extension and cancels the four-trip low-ridership Sounder N Line commuter rail service by 2033, saving approximately $400 million. The board may revisit the N Line decision if ridership rebounds.
Sound Transit staff and board members said work will continue on cost-saving measures and new revenue tools to accelerate delayed projects and deliver the full ST3 vision voters approved nearly a decade ago.
May 29, 2026
Everett Economy, Everett Government