Jacobs Designs Light Rail Extensions to Better Connect Puget Sound Communities

Commuters now have an easier time getting to employment, recreation and education opportunities thanks to two new light rail lines in Washington state. 

Jacobs, as a member of two joint venture partnerships, delivered final design for Sound Transit’s Link 2 Line, a new 6.5- mile segment of light rail in Washington state’s Bellevue and Redmond communities and the 8.5-mile Lynnwood Link Extension, which connects riders between south Snohomish County, downtown Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“Both Sound Transit’s and Jacobs’ vibrant and transformational history in western Washington is planting the seeds for a bright future in our industry and communities,” says Jacobs Senior Vice President Ron Williams. “We’ve partnered with Sound Transit since the beginning—Central Link, in fact! Over the last 20 years, on nine link extension projects including Link 2 Line and Lynnwood Link, we’ve grown alongside Sound Transit – extending our capabilities from planning, through final design, and construction.”

Link 2 Line connects Bellevue and Redmond 

On the Link 2 Line, which recently received Engineering News-Record (ENR)’s Northwest Award of Merit in the Airport/Transit category, Jacobs successfully delivered overlapping design packages on an aggressive schedule with three design-bid-build, one heavy civil general contractor/construction manager (GCCM), and one design-build build package, in addition to multiple early works packages.

Our design elements included seven miles of double track and elevated/aerial guideway; multiple stations, including signature, retained cut, elevated and at-grade stations; long-span bridges over I-90 and I-405; seismic design; SEM (sequential excavation method) tunnel; parkland and wetland mitigation; and urban design/landscape architecture including streetscape improvements; safety and operations evaluation; and artist integration.

The Link 2 Line, part of the larger East Link Extension project, opened in April and now sees over 3,900 daily riders across its eight stations. The line provides an essential link in the planned 14-mile connection between downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

Lynnwood Link Extension links downtown Seattle and south Snohomish County

The Lynnwood Link Extension, which opened on August 30, is projected to see between 25,000 to 34,000 daily riders by 2026. The new line extends light rail from Northgate in Seattle into south Snohomish County, serving four stations, Shoreline South/148th, Shoreline North/185th, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood City Center. A fifth station, which was added to the program late in final design, 130^th St. Station in Seattle, will be coming online within 18 months while the mainline remains operational to the transit riders.

Jacobs’ final design elements included the 8.5-miles of double track elevated (3.9 miles) and at-grade guideway light rail; the four new elevated stations and one new at-grade station; long span bridge; seismic design; urban design/landscape architecture including streetscape improvements; parkland and wetland mitigation; salmon-bearing stream development; safety and operations evaluation; and artist integration.  The program’s heavy civil elements were successfully delivered with multiple early work packages and two GCCM contract packages.

“Rail and transit projects are about connection,” adds Ron. "These lines are connecting some of the Pacific Northwest’s largest employers and blossoming communities with faster, more reliable transportation. Seeing these lines open and shaping communities is an incredibly proud moment and exemplifies the power infrastructure has in connecting our communities to equitable, lasting benefits.” 

Our solutions help plan, develop, finance, design, construct, maintain and operate smart transportation infrastructure that connects people and communities around the world. Jacobs brings value through cost-effective solutions and services ranging from transportation planning, design, engineering and construction management to land development, environmental permitting and support with innovative financing measures and public-private partnerships. 

Locally, we’ve delivered almost $200 million in transportation final design in Puget Sound over the past two years. We’re the region’s premier transportation final design leader with over 1,100 local staff, 250 of which are delivering transit final design work. We’ve built strong local agency and stakeholder relationships having held every seat around the delivery table from planning through final design, and the success of these combined elements is reflective of our design quality.