Sound Transit's Lynwood Link Gets the Federal Funding it Was Waiting For

"Sound Transit has secured a long sought-after agreement with the Trump administration for $1.2 billion in federal money for the planned 8.5-mile Northgate-to-Lynnwood light-rail line," reports David Gutman.

"Along with the $1.2 billion grant, the FTA also approved more than $650 million in low-interest, deferred-payment federal loans for Sound Transit to complete the Lynnwood line," according to Gutman. In total, the federal government is funding 40 percent of the total project cost.

The article also notes that the funding for the project has been on shaky ground since the Trump administration took office. The Lynwood Link project was one of many transit projects around the country to be left in limbo by the Trump administration since Congress approved its funding earlier this year.

"Several months ago, the FTA told Sound Transit that it wasn’t processing any new transit grants, even though Congress had approved the money," according to Gutman. "And in May, the U.S. Government Accountability Office faulted the FTA for dragging its feet on disbursing grants, noting that the Trump administration had wanted to end the grant program and the FTA 'runs the risk of violating federal law' if it doesn’t make changes."

The planned line is expected to serve 68,500 daily riders and travel from Lynwood to the University of Washington in 20 minutes.