Saturday is the big opening day for the most recent extension of Link Light Rail, now known as the 1 Line.
Extending north from Husky Stadium, the central light rail line will now stop at the University District, Roosevelt and Northgate.
The light rail will travel underground from Husky Stadium in a state-of-the-art tunnel using a floating slab track designed to protect campus research buildings from vibrations. It will return to the surface in Maple Leaf parallel to Interstate 5 just north of 92nd Street. The U District and Roosevelt stations are underground whereas Northgate is elevated. The future extension north to Lynnwood is expected to open in 2024 and will travel above ground alongside I-5.
Northgate station will feature important community connections, including the new John Lewis Memorial Bridge, which offers a pedestrian and bicycle option over Interstate 5 connecting the new transit center to North Seattle Community College. Northgate station will also serve the new Kraken Community Iceplex and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Medical Pavilion.
The 1 line will run every 8 minutes during the peak commute and every 10 minutes at other times of the day. Service will start at Northgate before 5 am and end after midnight. Travel times from Northgate are expected to be 7 minutes to Husky Stadium, 20 minutes to T-Mobile Park, and 49 minutes to the airport.
PSRC provided $102 million in funding for this extension of light rail and $1.3 million for the John Lewis Memorial Bridge.