West Seattle Link Cost Estimates Jump As Much As $1.6 Billion

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The cost to extend light rail to West Seattle is expected to cost $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion more than earlier estimates suggested, according to newly released information from Sound Transit. The updated cost ranges, provided within the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the West Seattle Link Extension, point toward tough decisions that will be set to come in front of the Sound Transit board in the coming months as they select a final alignment for the project.

Sound Transit had previously pegged West Seattle Link’s cost at just under $4 billion, but the new estimates for the preferred alignment selected by the board in 2022 represent a potential increase of 28% to 40%, significantly outpacing inflation. The FEIS notes the potential for these increased costs to disrupt Sound Transit’s overall delivery plan, which currently assumes an opening of West Seattle Link by late 2032.

“ased on current cost estimates and revenue projections, the preferred alternatives and design options for the West Seattle Link Extension are anticipated to exceed the assumptions in Sound Transit’s realigned financial plan,” Sound Transit wrote in the FEIS.

The cost increases impact all segments on the four-station light rail project, which includes a new bridge crossing the Duwamish River alongside the West Seattle Bridge. That river crossing, pegged at $1.2 to $1.3 billion in Sound Transit’s draft EIS from 2022, is now expected to cost $1.9 to $2.15 billion. And a tunnel underneath 41st Avenue SW, the preferred option selected by the Sound Transit board to get to Alaska Junction, is now expected to cost $1.75 to $1.9 billion, up from $1.1 billion.



https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/09/13/west-seattle-link-cost-estimates-jump/

[stopdiggin]

1. the only argument I have here is the verbiage

regarding 'significantly outpacing inflation' - which has almost no relevance to the discussion at hand. Different planning (including structures and routing) are going to tally up to different costs. Nothing to do with inflation there.

(although it is a given that a project built 5 or 10 years out, is de facto going to cost more than current pricing. but that will absolutely be factored in bidding, etc.)