Sound Transit vows to keep Ballard light rail despite rising costs

Sound Transit board members pledged this week to complete the Ballard and West Seattle light rail extensions despite costs nearly doubling—Ballard now estimated at over $20 billion (up from $11.2 billion) and West Seattle at $8 billion (from $4.2 billion). The voter-approved ST3 projects face a $35 billion agency budget gap, though officials believe design savings and potential state funding could help close the gap. A community meeting on the Ballard extension is scheduled for May 11 at the National Nordic Museum.