Now in Service: Sound Transit Light Rail Innovation Connects Communities Via a Floating Bridge

The long-anticipated Crosslake Connection, stretching more than a mile across Lake Washington, is now open. For the first time anywhere, light rail vehicles carry passengers across a floating bridge that connects Puget Sound communities from Seattle to Mercer Island and the Eastside.

The opening completes the expansion of the Link system approved by voters in 2008 as part of a Sound Transit ballot initiative. The 2 Line creates a faster, more reliable way to travel across Lake Washington, just in time for the FIFA World Cup this summer. Upon the service opening, several involved in the project as well as elected representatives spoke of the project’s benefits, including the economic growth the service will bring to the area, the community connections, the reduction in traffic congestion, and the innovation that makes this a historic event.  

Snohomish County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers said, “This is a connection that will fundamentally improve people’s lives by expanding their access to jobs, housing, health care and education—all from trains with the most beautiful views anywhere in the world.”

King County Executive and Sound Transit Board member Girmay Zahilay said, “This project didn’t happen overnight and reflects decades of advocacy, resilience through challenges, and the collective effort to plan, build, and deliver on a promise, showing what’s possible when we listen to community and invest with purpose.”

Throughout the project, Sound Transit focused on responsible construction practices, renewable energy installations, and sustainability, while creating area jobs and opportunity for working people. Monty Anderson, executive secretary of the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council said, “Sound Transit’s investments throughout the region have created thousands of family-wage jobs for skilled craftspeople and pathways out of poverty.” For more on the award-winning design and construction effort, see Sound Transit’s video: First in the world: How Sound Transit built light rail on a floating bridge.