TACOMA, Wash. — Opening of the Hilltop Extension of Sound Transit’s Tacoma light rail line will be delayed for a second time, the agency said Thursday, pushing opening of the 2.4-mile addition close to a year behind schedule.
The Urbanist website says the project had originally been scheduled to open in May 2022, but had been delayed to the first quarter of 2023 because of construction delays and issues in procuring new light rail vehicles.
Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm said in a blog post on the agency’s website that recent quality issues had “depleted our schedule cushion” for the opening date before a “new issue regarding the track geometry in one section of the extension” was discovered last week. The agency is bringing in outside experts for an independent assessment of the problem and possible corrective action, she wrote, and as an emerging problem, it is not yet clear what it will mean for a completion date.
The light rail T line, formerly known as Tacoma Link, currently operates a 1.6-mile route between the Tacoma Dome station and downtown Tacoma. The new section will add six stations.
It’s been around since 2003. It isn’t always the easiest to find, because it originates behind the Tacoma Dome parking garage. When Sound Transit moved to the Tacoma Dome station, a direct link was established to the streetcar. With Amtrak now running on the Point Defiance Bypass, that station also added a direct connection.
How long has this service been in operation? I was in Tacoma in 2015 but I don’t remember it being around.
Area businesses not happy as that have tolerated disruption for a few years, now additional delay. Got to wonder, when engineering, how do things get messed up. I am not an engineer, just wondering?
I rode it a few times wh
I’m not sure what happened that posted my incomplete comment and since there is no way to edit or delete a posted comment, I’ll have to start over. I rode the line several times when I lived in Lynnwood and was visiting Tacoma. It was fairly busy, especially at lunch times. It’s a nice ride and if you ever get to Tacoma, please ride it.
Never been to Tacoma (just a drive down I-5), but I have to wonder. Does anyone ride this thing? I wouldn’t know but I have to ask. A mile and a half of street running to get a few blocks.