Tacoma Dome Link Extension Draft EIS

Tacoma Dome Link Extension (Sound Transit)

The Tacoma Dome Link Extension will add 10 miles of elevated light rail from Federal Way to Tacoma Dome. There will be four light rail stations at South Federal Way, Fife, East Tacoma/Portland Ave and Tacoma Dome. The comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is open until next Monday, February 10.

Most of the proposed alignments are along I-5 and the alternative stations have generally similar walksheds. Given the amount of information, this article will only provide an overview of the alternatives with some extra detail on South Federal Way and Tacoma Dome. Please browse the links below for more information.

Federal WayFederal Way Map

For the Federal Way segment from Federal Way Downtown Station to South 344th Street, the alignment along I-5 has already been chosen. The Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) South site at S 336th Street was already selected in June 2024.

South Federal WaySouth Federal Way Map

The South Federal Way Segment extends from South 344th Street to Fife. Originally Sound Transit preferred the I-5 alignments. However after encountering the poor soil conditions which caused a landslide, the agency has decided to study the SR-99 alignment as well.

There are in total 4fouralternatives. SF Enchanted Parkway and SF I-5 both run alongside I-5. SF 99-West and SF-East run along Pacific Highway South. (SF stands for South Federal Way.)

South Federal Way Land Use South Federal Way Stations Map

The South Federal Way proposed stations are pretty close to each other (except for SF I-5) and generally surrounded by big-box commercial property such as Lowes and Home Depot, but still have potential for redevelopment (South Station Subarea Plan). There's also the Park 16 apartments on S 356 St and Crosspoint Apartments next door. The SF I-5 station's walkshed is worse, bordering the I-5 freeway with few opportunities for redevelopment. There are a couple apartments east of I-5 though and also Wild Waves amusement park to the south.

I-5 AlternativesSF I-5 AlternativeSF I-5 Station mapSF I-5 station aerial view

The SF I-5 alternative would build a car-commuter focused elevated rail station adjacent to I-5. The site would be more challenging for bus access and as previously mentioned hard to walk to as well. While the freeway access is good, the existing HOV ramps and larger parking garage at Federal Way Downtown render this somewhat alternative redundant.

The SF I-5 alternative light rail route then continues south along I-5 with the previously mentioned construction challenges with the slopes and proximity to I-5.

SF Enchanted Parkway Alternative (I-5)

Originally the SF Enchanted Parkway alternative was the preferred alternative. However, it later also follows the same path as the above SF I-5 alignment with the same constructibility issues along I-5.

The elevated light rail station would be built similar to existing Northgate Station with a 60 feet height and intermediate mezzanine.

The default option is to build the elevated station just north of S 352nd Street in the northwest corner. There's an additional option to shift the station south above S 352nd street similar to Mountlake Terrace station with entrances north and south of the east-west street.

SR 99 Alternatives

Next are the two stations alternatives: SF-99 Enchanted Station and the SF 99-352nd Station as well as the two possible alignments: SF 99-West and SF 99-East. They can be mixed and matched.

SF-99 Enchanted Station

The SF-99 Enchanted station is located almost at the same location and design as the SF Enchanted Parkway (I-5) station (northwest corner of Enchanted Parkway & S 352nd Street). The station is just angled a bit to the west so it can transition towards SR 99. The station height is lower at 40 feet versus the previous SF Enchanted Parkway (I-5)s 60 feet height.

SF 99-352nd Station

The SF 99-352nd Station is situated just south of S 352nd Street. The site has the minor benefit of a possible east-west bus stop connection on S 356th Street.

SF 99 West and East

Both of the above SF-99 Enchanted and SF 99-352nd Station can continue on either of the SR 99 routes.

SF 99-West Route

For this alternative the light rail would run elevated along the west of SR-99. Left turns would be restricted at 70th Avenue E.

SF 99-East Route

For this alternative, the elevated rail would stick to the east of SR 99.

For both alternatives, Sound Transit did not investigate running the elevated guideway down the median.

Fife

For Fife there are 3 options with an estimated 2,600 daily riders. The preferred Fife Station would be built in between 15th St E and 12 St E. While the Fife 54th Avenue Station would built right to the west of 54th Avenue while the Fife 54th Span Station would straddle the street.

All three stations would be built pretty similarly around 31~35 feet in height and a simple escalator or elevator to reach the ground floor.

Portland Avenue

There are two possible stations in Portland Avenue both elevated stations with the platform height around 46 feet high. The preferred Portland Avenue Station is an elevated station situated just east of E Portland Avenue. This option would have side platforms with the tracks in the middle (similar to Mt Baker Station).

The second option Portland Avenue Span Station is a similar elevated station but spanning over Portland Avenue instead. The elevated station would be built with a center platform configuration.

Both alternatives would require some temporary closures to Portland Avenue and have similar business displacements.

Tacoma Dome

For the final Tacoma Dome Station there are a total of four options.

Tacoma 25th Street-WestMap view of 25th street westAerial view

This preferred option would straddle above the 25th Street to the west of E G street. Just to the north would be the existing two parking garages. To the south of the station is the Sounder station and Freighthouse Square.

A pedestrian bridge would connect the mezzanine level of the light rail station south to the Sounder station. The Station would straddle over a constrained 2 lane E 25th Street.

Tacoma 25th Street-East

The 25th Street east alternative is very similar to the street west alternative just shifted east of East G street. There would be no pedestrian bridge.

The station would straddle over a slightly wider 3 lane E 25th Street.

As a side note for West Seattle it still remains unclear why a similar elevated station couldn't be built over any of the north-south avenues (California, 42nd, 41st, Fauntleroy) rather than on-top of apartment buildings.

Tacoma Close to Sounder

The Close to Sounder station alternative would build the station on the Freighthouse Square site. The existing Freighthouse Square would be removed.

A pedestrian bridge would be added similar to the 25th Street-West alternative connecting the Sounder station (northbound) to the mezzanine. There would be no impacts to the 25th street, which Sound Transit seems to prefer to minimize car impacts.

Tacoma 26th Street

The 26th Street alternative would have the station built elevated over E 26th Street instead. The station would be located south of the Sounder station.

The mezzanine would span over E 26th Street. A new pedestrian bridge would be added across the Sounder tracks.

Travel Times

Mode	Estimated Travel Time Tacoma Dome to CID
ST 590 (no traffic)	45 minutes (4th Ave S & Jackson St)
Sounder South	62 minutes (King Street)
Link Light Rail Line 1	67 minutes (CID Station)
ST 590 (with traffic)	~60 minutes (4th Ave S & Jackson St)

Costs

The total costs for the Tacoma Dome Link range from $3.62 billion dollars up to $4.41 billion dollars. Constructing new parking garages at the South Federal Way station and for the Fife station represent the additional $200 million for one garage (or $400 million for both garages).

Additional Resources

• Draft EIS comment https://tdlink.participate.online/
• TDLE Alternatives Guide (39 pages)
  • Includes comparison charts and top-down maps
• Station Area Planning: South Federal Way and Fife (50 page)
  • Includes station area footprint and station models
• Station Area Planning: Portland Avenue and Tacoma Dome (50 page)
  • Includes station area footprint and station models
• South Station Subarea Plan
• TDLE Draft EIS All Documents