Federal Funding Review Jeopardizes $25 Million for Sound Transit Infill Station
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) appears poised to rescind one of the biggest federal transit grants awarded in the Puget Sound region in recent years. A $25 million grant for Sound Transit’s Graham Street infill station, which would add a new 1 Line light rail stop between Othello and Columbia City, was announced weeks before the second Trump Administration came into office, but it could now vanish.
The grant is being swept up in an overall review of competitive grants awarded during the Biden Administration that have not yet been “fully obligated.” Last week USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s office announced that it was ordering a project level review across all of the department’s grant programs, via a memo that was first reported by transportation reporter Yonah Freemark of Urban Institute.
Duffy’s memo directs the agency to examine any project elements that either “purposefully improve the condition for [environmental justice] communities or actively reduce GHG emissions.” That’s on top of flagging any project activities that involve “green infrastructure or bicycle infrastructure.” The memo seems to target funding geared not only toward improving mobility, but also for improving safety for people who aren’t in cars.
As a new station intended to improve transit access in South Seattle, Graham Street checks many of the boxes listed in the memo. Along with filling in a conspicuous gap in the transit network for Southeast Seattle residents, the project is also planned to include upgrades to pedestrian infrastructure, with bicycle infrastructure upgrades planned by the City of Seattle as part of the Seattle Transportation Plan.
https://www.theurbanist.org/2025/03/19/federal-funding-review-jeopardizes-sound-transit-infill-station/