Sound Transit outlines plan to manage projected $34.5 billion funding gap for light-rail expansion

Sound Transit officials in Seattle on Thursday, May 7, 2026, outlined a proposal to address a projected $34.5 billion funding shortfall over the next two decades—an approach that could reshape the agency’s long-planned light-rail expansion across the Puget Sound region.

The proposal, presented at a Sound Transit Board executive committee meeting, would align projects with available funding by placing them into three categories: projects fully funded through completion; projects funded only through planning or design; and projects deferred until additional funding becomes available.

Board Chair Dave Somers said the gap requires “very hard choices,” but emphasized that the proposal does not represent a decision to permanently defer or eliminate what voters approved.

Projects listed as fully funded

Projects cited as affordable and fully funded include the West Seattle Link extension, Tacoma Dome Link, Everett Link (phases 1 and 2), and an initial segment of the Ballard Link to Seattle Center.

Under the proposal, the T Line extension to Tacoma Community College is slated for completion in 2043, and the South Kirkland-to-Issaquah Link is expected to open in 2050.

Projects that may be deferred

Other projects—including the full Ballard Link extension from Seattle Center to Market Street—were described as not currently affordable and could be deferred until additional funding is identified.