First Avenue Streetcar Cost Estimates Soar to $410 Million

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Connecting Seattle’s two existing streetcar lines could cost the City $410 million dollars and take a full seven years, according to a newly released consultant’s report on the long-dormant Center City Connector project, rebranded the Cultural Connector. That new cost estimate represents a 43% increase compared to the previous estimate of $286 million the City produced in 2019. With no funding identified for most of the project’s costs, the new report paints a dire picture for the future of the project, which has been moving forward in fits and starts since 2012.

This delivery assessment for the Cultural Connector, which was delivered to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) last Halloween, was not available for public consumption until now, even as the Seattle City Council’s missed a key opportunity to allocate local dollars to keep design moving last fall. Without that local match, $7.3 million in federal dollars allocated via the Puget Sound Regional Council are set to be returned this year. A $75 million small starts grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) remains up-in-the-air while the project remains without a full finance plan.



Even though the report is being released now, the Harrell Administration is not proposing any new funding to move the project forward, and it remains on hold. “At this time, there is no change to the status of the project,” an SDOT press released timed with this announcement noted. “The City will continue to engage stakeholders on the Delivery Assessment results and explore opportunities to support Mayor Bruce Harrell’s vision for a linear arts, culture, and entertainment district, of which the Culture Connector is one key element.”

Along with overall inflation, the new cost estimates reflect trends within the transportation industry leading to increased costs, costs that are impacting projects around the entire state. “Since the pause of the 2018 project, there has been general price inflation in the economy, including a period of rapid price escalation, and construction price escalation within the region,” the assessment notes.

https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/01/19/first-avenue-streetcar-cost-estimates-soar-to-410-million/