March 2026 – Page 2 – Seattle Transit Blog

Crosslake Connection: 50 Years in the Making

March 23, 2026March 23, 2026 by Michael Smith

Sound Transit’s 2 Line light rail service will carry it’s first passengers across Lake Washington in just a few days. Puget Sound residents have long envisioned a passenger rail connection between Seattle and the Eastside. In 1968 and 1970, voters failed to approve Forward Thrust rapid transit propositions. Less than a decade later, work began on what would eventually be the Crosslake Connection opening on Saturday.

Essential Groundwork: 1976-1993

In December 1976, a Memorandum Agreement was signed that outlined the construction of an “improved I-90 facility between I-405 and I-5”. The agreement, signed by Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue, King County, Metro Transit, and the Washington State Highway Commission, outlined a new I-90 roadway that should include reversible lanes dedicated for buses, carpools, and Mercer Island residents. The document also stated the new “facility shall be designed and constructed so that conversion of all or part of the transit roadway to fixed guideway is possible”. This language was optimistic at the time, but vital a few decades later.

Sunday Movie: Downtown Redmond Urbanism & Floating Bridge Rail

March 22, 2026March 21, 2026 by Mike Orr

Downtown Redmond’s walkable urbanism in the Link station area is transit-oriented development (TOD) done right. (Yet Another Urbanist, August 2025)

Spring 2026 Service Change

March 21, 2026March 21, 2026 by Michael Smith

In just 7 days, the Link 2 Line will carry its first passengers across Lake Washington. The long awaited and heavily anticipated opening will cause a cascade of changes across the region’s bus network. Many of these changes will be implemented this Fall, but some will start on March 28. Below is an outline of all Spring 2026 route changes for King County Metro, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, and Intercity Transit.

King County Metro

Starting March 28, Metro is implementing Phase 4 of the East Link Connections route restructure. The remaining route changes will be implemented in the Fall. The full slate of East Link Connection route revisions was outlined in a previous post. The agency’s South Link Connections route restructure will also be implemented in the Fall. In addition to the changes listed below, several other routes have minor schedule adjustments or bay changes at transit center.

Metro will begin all door boarding on all routes on March 28. Most of the Metro fleet has ORCA readers at each door, so riders are expected to tap in when they board (with an ORCA card or credit card). Passengers paying with cash should still use the front door.

Friday Roundtable: University Link Turns 10

March 20, 2026March 19, 2026 by Michael Smith

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.

ST3 Truncations

March 19, 2026March 19, 2026 by Wesley Lin

Sound Transit finally addressed their severe budget shortfalls at the March 18 Board Retreat. The transit agency looked at three different approaches to build ST3. All three approaches investigated involve heavy truncations with some lines being completely eliminated.

Midweek Roundup: ST Board retreat

March 18, 2026March 17, 2026 by Nathan Dickey

Reminders & Updates:

Downtown Transit Tunnel Closure Mar. 21-22: Link service between Capitol Hill to Stadium will be replaced by shuttle buses this weekend for scheduled maintenance.
Simulated 2 Line service from Lynnwood to Seattle is suspended until March 23.

Local Transit:

Sound Transit’s efforts to make ST3 affordable again continue with new cost-savings measures for WSLE (The Urbanist). Revisions to the long-term plan for ST3 are the focus of today’s ST Board retreat in Tacoma.
Meanwhile, Sound Transit is trying “progressive design-build” as a way to build its third Link operations and maintenance facility more affordably than estimated under its standard megaproject delivery methods (The Urbanist).
The Interstate Bridge Replacement project is being broken into phases as cost estimates continue to explode (The Urbanist).
State Rep. Greg Nance (Bainbridge Island) accused State Sen. Marko Liias of retaliatory and transactional lawmaking as the Mosquito Fleet bill stumbled at the State Legislature (Op-Ed, Kitsap Sun, soft $). Liias says he would have preferred a phone call over a newspaper column (The Seattle Times, $).

Movie: Pacific County

March 17, 2026March 17, 2026 by Mike Orr

[Ed. This article featured a video that has since become unavailable. Here’s a video link in case it comes back. Commentators who saw the video, could you help summarize the content as you remember it in the comments?]

A bus restructure idea for rural Pacific County in the southwest corner of Washington State, home of the Long Beach penninsula. (The Transit Bandit) Thanks to commentator “big-b” for finding this video.

Would anyone like to do an article on another Washington county outside Pugetopolis? What is the current transit network like? How well does it serve residents and visitors? What service is missing? Would a revenue-neutral restructure help? Would a small expansion like one or a few more buses allow a large improvement to the network? This could evolve into a series about several counties if somebody or some people want to write it. We’ve had articles about Spokane, Ellensburg, the Tri-Cities, etc, when we’ve had somebody with ties to those counties or the agency announced a major change.

Judkins Park Station Access Guide

March 16, 2026March 15, 2026 by Michael Smith

Judkins Park Link station will open with the full East Link Extension on March 28. While Judkins Park station will be an incredible resource for Seattle residents in the Central District and Southeast Seattle, the station’s location in the middle of I-90 is less than ideal.

The two entrances to Judkins Park station are quite different. The east entrance faces 23rd Ave, a 2-lane arterial, and Sam Smith park on the I-90 lid. The west entrance faces the 6-lane Rainier Ave under the Link tracks and several I-90 overpasses. Recent improvements in the area have mitigated some of the challenges faced by people traveling to the station by transit, bike, and on foot.

Transit Connections

Judkins Park station’s east-west orientation has potential for great connections with several north-south bus routes. Fortunately for transferring passengers, King County Metro, Sound Transit, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) have worked together to provide front door transit service to both entrances.

Sunday Movie: US vs European Zoning

March 15, 2026March 14, 2026 by Mike Orr

US vs European zoning. (City Beautiful)

This is an open thread.

Link 2 Line “Crosslake Connection” opening celebrations

March 14, 2026March 10, 2026 by Nathan Dickey

The opening date of the Crosslake Connection was announced on January 23, 2026 (Sound Transit).

Sound Transit’s arduous journey building the 2 Line will finally conclude two weeks from today with the opening of the “Crosslake Connection” between Seattle and Bellevue. On March 28, along with beginning regular operations of the world’s first (and only) electrified floating railway, two new Link stations will open: Judkins Park and Mercer Island. Like previous openings of Link extensions, Sound Transit is hosting celebrations at these new stations as well as key stations at either side of the Crosslake Connection and other stations along the 2 Line.

Read on for details.