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Sound Transit's Long-Delayed Crosslake Connection More than a Decade After Voter Approval
The Cross Lake Connection enables 50,000 daily riders to travel across Lake Washington with new safety systems monitoring wind and wave conditions for operational adjustments.
- On Saturday, Sound Transit opened the Cross Lake Connection, the world's first light rail line to operate across a floating bridge, linking Seattle and the Eastside for the first time.
- Prompted by 2008 voter approval, the nearly 18-year project faced significant delays, including a costly "plinth fiasco" where contractors incorrectly installed thousands of track supports on the floating bridge.
- The 7-mile connection along Interstate 90 links Judkins Park and Mercer Island stations, with Sound Transit officials predicting 50,000 daily riders on the expanded route.
- Because the structure floats on water, Sound Transit installed systems that continuously monitor wind-driven waves, allowing trains to slow or switch to a single track during extreme conditions.
- Future expansions remain uncertain as Sound Transit faces a nearly $35 billion funding shortfall, potentially jeopardizing transit projects planned for West Seattle, Ballard, and other communities.
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The Center Square+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
New Sound Transit Line opens but future lines are short funding
(The Center Square) - Seattle's long delayed light rail link with the Eastside communities of Bellevue and Redmond opens on Saturday, part of an ambitious plan to build mass transit
·United States
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Slog AM: Central District Loses its Only Walgreens, 2 Line’s Crosslake Connection Opens Tomorrow, TSA Workers Might Finally Get Paid
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Charles Mudede What is this? It’s a key element of a development initiated in 2015 by Vancouver BC’s Westbank: the installation of a 747 jet once operated by United Airlines and sent to a California graveyard in 2017. The whole project, however, was delayed due to financial woes attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising construction costs resulting from supply chain disruptions. In September, 2025, We…
·Seattle, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 33%
C 50%
R 17%
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