Friday Roundtable: University Link Turns 10
Members of the press alight a Link train during the U Link media preview ride in 2016. (Zach Shaner)Ten years ago yesterday, March 19, the University Link Extension opened to the public. The extension utilized a new 3.15 mile twin bore tunnel from the north end of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) to the University of Washington, via Capitol Hill. U Link was arguably the first subway-like section on the 1 Line (then Central Link). Trips between the University of Washington (UW) station and Westlake station only took 8 minutes, compared to 20-30 minutes on a bus. The extension caused a significant Metro bus restructure that truncated numerous routes at UW.
Over the past 10 years, Link has been one of the fastest growing light rail systems in the country, by both ridership and miles of track. For a map of each Link extension, check out the Link Expansion Map created by Luke Billington.
- March 19, 2016: University Link Extension (from Westlake)
- September 24, 2016: Angle Lake Extension (from SeaTac/Airport)
- October 2, 2021: Northgate Extension (from UW)
- September 16, 2023: St Joseph T Link Extension (from Commerce Street)
- April 27, 2024: East Link Starter Line (between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology)
- August 30, 2024: Lynnwood Link Extension (from Northgate)
- May 10, 2025: Downtown Redmond Extension (from Redmond Technology)
- December 6, 2025: Federal Way Downtown Extension (from Angle Lake)
The party is not over yet! In just 8 days, the Crosslake Connection will begin open to the public. This extension will connect the 1 and 2 Lines and open new stations in Judkins Park and Mercer Island.
This is an open thread.