The Sound Transit Board of Directors has identified its preferred light-rail route and station locations for the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, which will extend light-rail service by 9.99 miles from Federal Way to Tacoma, both in Washington state, and include four new stations. The decision moves the project to its preliminary engineering and final environmental impact statement (EIS) phase for further detailed study. Sound Transit has emphasized that the identification of a preferred alternative indicates the direction in which the Board is currently leaning, with the final selection of the project to be built anticipated in 2027, following the publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
The Board has identified the components of the Tacoma Dome Link Extension preferred alternative as follows: in South Federal Way, the SR 99-West Alternative has been chosen, with the design refinement to run on the east side of SR 99 in Milton; and a South Federal Way station situated on the south side of South 352nd Street.
For the Fife segment, the Fife I-5 Alternative has been selected, with the Fife Station to be located in the vicinity of 15th Street East and 59th Avenue East.
In Tacoma, the preferred alternative is the Portland Avenue Station, and the route and Tacoma Dome Station in the “Tacoma Close-to-Sounder” location, which aims to optimize connectivity with existing rail services.