TACOMA, Wash. — The expanded Sound Transit Line in Tacoma will open to riders on Saturday.
The line will now connect the Tacoma Dome to the Hilltop neighborhood. The service area of the Tacoma Link will be doubled, going from five stations to 11 and increasing from around 2 miles to around 4 miles in length.
The expansion will also increase the number of Sound Transit Tacoma trains from three to eight.
“There can be unplanned accidents, so having more vehicles in our fleet gives us more resiliency to continue our service on a reliable basis,” said Tracy Reed, the acting executive director for design and construction at Sound Transit.
The new trains also have more space and can hold more riders.
The expansion was approved by voters back in 2008 and construction started in 2018. The expansion was originally supposed to be completed in May of 2022, but Sound Transit said there were delays due to utility relocations, complexities with testing, and delays associated with the pandemic.
Some businesses, like Johnson Candy Company, which has been in the Hilltop neighborhood for nearly 100 years, said the construction of the expanded line created challenges for their business.
“It was tough, because obviously people have an impression they can't get here because of the construction, and then the street was all torn up for one large portion of it,” said Bill Johnson, the production manager at Johnson Candy Company, and grandson of the founder of the company.
Johnson said his family has had their business in the neighborhood for generations, and that change is inevitable. He is hopeful that the change that will come from the Sound Transit Link line expanding to their neighborhood will be a positive one.
“It'd be great to have a real vibrant neighborhood with a lot of people walking around,” said Johnson. “And I also hope that they can do it without destroying the character of Hilltop, you know, and displacing a lot of the people.”
The new line not only gives access to businesses in the Hilltop area but also gives access to areas that have schools and hospitals, which Sound Transit leaders hope people will utilize.
“With the expansion of the children’s hospital next to one of our stations, we do hope it becomes a regular part of clients’ use of the health care services up there,” said Reed.
While Sound Transit leaders celebrate the expansion, Johnson said he is hopeful people will use the line to come enjoy the Hilltop neighborhood and maybe even enjoy some chocolate too.
“I think that it's a great community here and there's a lot of people that really care about the Hilltop,” said Johnson. “So, I'm pretty optimistic about the future.”
Sound Transit said there is already another expansion in the works, but people will have to wait nearly two decades for it to be completed. Reed said voters approved funding for the planning of an extension going from Hilltop, west to the area of Tacoma Community College. She said they are in the very early stages of planning and that project completion would not be until around 2041. Sound Transit started services in Tacoma about 20 years ago.
Sound Transit said work on sidewalk and streetscape upgrades in the Hilltop neighborhood has also started. They said that this phase of work will bring:
- Existing pedestrian pathways up to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Streetscape features that include more vibrant colors and designs, as well as other decorative elements selected through a community-driven process
- Improved pedestrian lighting, street furniture, bicycle racks and corrals, and a bicycle repair station
- Additional street trees and landscaping
Sound Transit said that these improvements will be completed in the summer of 2025.
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