Trump Officials Delay Expected Approval Date for West Seattle Light Rail
The Trump Administration is subjecting the West Seattle Link Extension to additional scrutiny and that is pushing the estimated date for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to greenlight the light rail project by 30 to 60 days, Sound Transit announced this week. Originally expected in late February, the publishing of the FTA’s Record of Decision (ROD) is a critical approval point for the project, and summarizes the findings of the federally-required environmental review that will allow it to head toward construction.
The delay comes on top of federal fund freezes that are impacting transportation projects large and small across the region and is part of a growing pattern of procedural delays on other projects.
After the West Seattle Blog first broke news of the delay midweek, Sound Transit CEO Goran Sparrman Thursday fleshed out details to agency’s board of directors, clarifying that West Seattle Link isn’t being singled out. Nevertheless, the news will be worrying to many transit advocates watching a new administration that is likely to be anything but friendly to public transit projects.
“We recently received word that the federal Record of Decision — the important next milestone in the project — which we had anticipated at the end of this month, will likely be delayed 30 to 60 days until our time for the Federal Transit Administration to work with the Office of The General Counsel at the White House to review and ensure consistency with recent executive orders that have been widely publicized over the last month,” Sparrman said. “We understand that this additional process is not exclusive to our project, the West Seattle Link Extension product, and is it being applied broadly across the country.”
https://www.theurbanist.org/2025/02/28/trump-delay-approval-for-west-seattle-light-rail/