Mosqueda issues statement following Sound Transit Board vote on 20-year financial plan

May 28, 2026

King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board member Teresa Mosqueda issued the following statement Thursday after Sound Transit voted on its 20-year financial plan:

“Today’s vote paves the way to bring light rail to West Seattle, to build the spine from Everett to Tacoma, to help advance the infill stations at Graham Street and Boeing Access Road, and this plan commits Sound Transit to ultimately get to Ballard and Issaquah.

“For West Seattle, this vote makes it possible to officially initiate early pre-construction work, such as geotechnical testing like drilling to test soil stability for the bridge foundation and contracting with critical engineering and design consultants, laying the groundwork for us to be able to build the promised light rail in the near future. West Seattle light rail expansion is now poised to enter a new phase of project development, made possible by cost savings work done by Sound Transit that has already yielded nearly $2.6 billion in savings while retaining ridership and avoiding impacts on many businesses and residential properties.

“The impact of tariffs, inflation, and other cost increases are impacting every capital project across the country—that is not unique. What is unique is the magnitude of the project we are endeavoring to build: ST3 is the largest transit investment in our region’s history. But we are not powerless, and today’s resolution lays out our intention and commitment to use every tool available, including cost-savings design work, additional financing tools, expedited permitting, and more, to make up the gap and fully deliver on the promise of light rail expansion across our region.

“Sound Transit’s 20-year financial plan commits to securing additional financial capacity to build the full promise of Sound Transit 3. The underlying bill put forward by the Chair includes funding to get to 100% design on Ballard, and the adopted amendments further solidify Sound Transit’s commitment to fulfilling the ST3 proposal with a transparent process and framework for building light rail to Ballard. Our work will continue to generate greater cost savings and financial support needed to deliver on that commitment. The cost savings work the Sound Transit team has done on the West Seattle plan shows what’s possible when we demand creative thinking and aggressively pursue cost-saving options: properties avoided, ridership retained, and billions saved.”