Sound Transit has settled on a light rail station location and design approach for the Graham Street infill station in the Rainier Valley, opting for a center-platform station south of the intersection. The selected approach will advance into federally- and state-mandated environment review processes for evaluation as the sole station option.
During the agency’s monthly System Expansion Committee meeting on Thursday, senior project manager Brian Macik ticked through details of the station proposal that will help fill in a 1.6-mile gap on the light rail corridor between the Columbia City and Othello stations.
Sound Transit considered numerous locations near S Graham Street for a station on Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Way S during the early planning process. “These included platforms north of Graham, south of Graham, and split north and south of Graham,” Macik said.
In February, Sound Transit presented three options to the public for a station location just south of the S Graham Street intersection: a side platform option in the middle of the street, a center platform option in the middle of the street, and a center platform option more or less east of the existing southbound track in the street. Macik told the committee that the agency was advancing the third option.
“This option reflects community priorities of safety, access, minimizing construction effects, displacement concerns, and delivering the station quickly,” Macik said. “Locating in the station south of Graham will increase the walk access to more of the neighborhood with a more complete street grid located south of Graham and close proximity to the Rainier Valley Neighborhood Greenway just to the east on 39th Avenue S.”
From a safety standpoint, the center option would mean riders only need to cross one set of tracks unlike most other at-grade stations in the Rainier Valley, reducing safety conflicts, Macik said. Another upshot is that the center platform will provide more convenient access during single-tracking events and that the location would avoid relocation of a large sewer line in the street, thereby reducing construction impacts and timelines.
“I’m sure you’re all aware of all the interruptions we experience, whether it’s planned or unplanned, especially on MLK in the Rainier Valley, having a center platform gives us flexibility because a train can serve either side of the platform heading in either direction,” Macik said. “And so a part of this project, or separate — to be determined — is we actually will be adding a new crossover to the alignment at S Juneau Street, just to the north of Graham, which will allow us to maintain good headways throughout construction of the station itself… A new crossover on its own has independent utility helping out with unplanned and planned maintenance in the Rainier Valley, and then in the future, it will be much more flexible.”
By placing the center platform essentially east of the existing southbound track, Sound Transit will need to make numerous adjustments to northbound track to facilitate the platform and knock-on changes to MLK Way S.
Unlike identification of the proposed station location for the S Boeing Access Road infill station, Macik said that agency board action on the proposed Graham Street infill station location was not necessary. The difference being a location at S Graham Street was always the planned location whereas the agency’s recommended location for the S Boeing Access Road infill station would actually be relocated nearly a half-mile away, making it a substantive change.
Sound Transit estimates that the infill station will cost about $118 million and generate 2,700 to 4,100 daily riders by 2046. Official estimates for 2031 weren’t presented at the meeting, but Macik said that ridership numbers were probably 5% to 10% lower than the 2046 estimates. More definition on project costs will also come when the project is fully baselined for construction.
“We are currently in the planning phase of the project, looking to wrap up in 2026,” Macik said. “Design is scheduled for 2026 through 2028 with construction happening between 2028 and 2031. Our targeted opening date is 2031.”
As the project moves into environmental review, the agency will also commission conceptual engineering to offer more details on project design, which should come later in the year.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.
