Public input sought for Federal Way to Tacoma Dome light rail route

Five options include routes along Interstate 5 or State Route 99. Public comment is open until Feb. 10, 2025.

By Keelin Everly-Lang • December 13, 2024 4:15 pm
Several alternatives are being considered for the next stage of the link light rail linking Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome. These alternatives compare the possibilities for the segment of this section between Federal Way and Fife. Graphic provided by Sound Transit.
Several alternatives are being considered for the next stage of the link light rail linking Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome. These alternatives compare the possibilities for the segment of this section between Federal Way and Fife. Graphic provided by Sound Transit.

Sound Transit is seeking public comment on which route to take for the southernmost section of the Link light rail between Federal Way and the Tacoma Dome.

Five alternative routes were announced Dec. 13 in the Sound Transit’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Public comment is open until Feb. 10, 2025.

This section of the light rail is called the Tacoma Dome Link Extension (TDLE), after its final stop. Once the section is live, it will be possible to get from the Tacoma Dome to SeaTac Airport in 35 minutes and from Federal Way to Tacoma in 20 minutes, according to Sound Transit.

The Sound Transit Board will confirm or modify the preferred alternatives in 2025, then the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be completed in 2027. Once this is published, the Board will select which alternative will be built.

An EIS is a thorough evaluation of how each option will impact transportation, the natural environment and the built environment in the area, including residents and businesses.

Among the five options, there are two that would generally travel along I-5 in the segment between Federal Way and Fife, and three that would go along SR 99.

Each option will have various long- and short-term negative and positive impacts. For example, the SF I-5 Alternative would involve the least business displacements, but the most stream impacts and would impact “known highly sensitive cultural resources.”

Routes following State Route 99 would avoid impacting those cultural resources, but would involve much more complex land acquisitions, road closures and lane reductions on SR 99, displacing people who live there and complex requirements for the wetlands along the route. It would also include left turn restrictions that could complicate traffic.

Sound Transit has indicated that the SF Enchanted Parkway Alernative is their preferred route out of the five options. This one would begin by branching west toward Enchanted Parkway South from the Federal Way station located at S. 344th Street. It will then meet up with Interstate 5 where Enchanted Parkway South meets the freeway and run along Interstate 5 until it branches slightly to meet the station in Fife.

This alternative would pass by the east side of Sound Transit’s Operations and Maintenance Facility South (OMF), whose location at the Christian Faith Center megachurch property was selected in June 2024 and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

It would also displace the former Red Lion hotel, which was purchased by King County to be turned into an emergency shelter.

The SF I-5 Alternative for this segment would not branch out toward Enchanted Parkway and would instead hug the freeway the whole way down.

The SF 99-East Alternative and SF 99-West Alternative and the SF Porter Way Design Option would all run along State Route 99 in this segment between Federal Way and Fife instead.

In-depth evaluations of these alternatives are explored in the Draft EIS and there are many ways to submit public comment.

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell said in a statement that “we value our partnership with Sound Transit and thank their staff and board members for their work on this. We look forward to looking at the DEIS in depth and commenting on their analysis. This is an important part of the process, and we encourage all interested parties to provide their own comment on the process.”

How to comment

• Via the online comment form at https://tdlink.participate.online/

• Attend a virtual public meeting/hearing: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, via Zoom link on https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85314895495.

• Attend an in-person public meeting to make a verbal comment: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Commerce St., Tacoma, WA. Another one will be held 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center, 31510 Pete von Reichbauer Way S., Federal Way. A third in-person meeting will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Fife Community Center, 2111 54th Ave. E., Fife.

• Email comments to tdlinkdeis@soundtransit.org; or leave a voice message at 206-257-2144.

• Mail: TDLE Draft EIS, c/o Elma Borbe, Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104.

The full Draft EIS is available at https://www.soundtransit.org/system-expansion/tacoma-dome-link-extension/documents

For the area of light rail between Federal Way and Fife, two alternatives would generally align with I-5 while the other three would go along SR-99. Graphic provided by Sound Transit.

For the area of light rail between Federal Way and Fife, two alternatives would generally align with I-5 while the other three would go along SR-99. Graphic provided by Sound Transit.