Project Profile: Northgate Link Extension

photo credit: Sound Transit / HEWITT

Location	Seattle, Washington
Project Sponsor / Borrower	Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit)
Program Areas
Mode	Light Rail Transit
Description	The Northgate Link Extension expands Seattle's Sound Transit Link light rail system 4.3 miles north from the existing Capitol Hill and University of Washington Stations that opened in March 2016. The extension runs primarily underground through twin-bored tunnels and features three new stations: U District Station - below grade, located on Brooklyn Avenue NE between NE 43rd and NE 45th Streets in the University District near the west side of the University of Washington campus. Roosevelt Station - below grade, located just west of 12th Avenue NE across from Roosevelt High School. Northgate Station - elevated, located east of First Avenue NE, spanning NE 103rd Street near the Northgate Mall, and providing access to bus transfers and park-and-ride facilities. The extension is part of the regional mass transit system expansion (Sound Transit 2) approved by voters in 2008 and supported in large part by a dedicated local option sales tax. Additional extensions include East Link from downtown Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond, Lynnwood further north from Northgate, and Federal Way south from SeaTac Airport and Angle Lake. The project is the first to reach financial close under a TIFIA Master Credit Agreement (MCA), first authorized under MAP-21, under which USDOT may make a contingent commitment of future TIFIA credit assistance for a program of related projects secured by a common security pledge. Sound Transit secured a $1.991 billion contingent commitment to fund, through individually approved loans, portions of the Northgate Link, Lynnwood Link, Federal Way Link, and Operations and Maintenance Facility: East that will serve the new extensions.
Cost	$1.864 billion
Funding Sources	Sound Transit sales tax revenues - $932.9 million TIFIA loan - $615.3 million Bond proceeds - $244.4 million Grant proceeds - $71.8 million
Project Delivery / Contract Method	Design-build (tunnels) Design-bid-build (stations)
Private Partner	Design-builder (tunnels) - JCM Northlink LLC Jay Dee Contractors Frank Collucio Construction Company Michaels Corporation
Project Advisors / Consultants	Northgate Station Design - HEWITT Construction - Absher Construction Company Roosevelt Station Design - HEWITT Construction - Hoffman Construction Company U District Station Design - LMN Architects Construction - Hoffman Construction Company To Sound Transit Financial Advisor - Piper Jaffray Legal Advisor - Foster Pepper To USDOT Build America Bureau TIFIA Financial Advisor - Taylor DeJongh/Booz Allen Hamilton TIFIA Legal Advisor - Shearman & Sterling LLP
Lenders	USDOT TIFIA, Bondholders
Duration / Status	Construction began in late 2012. Revenue service operations is expected in 2021.
TIFIA Credit Assistance	Direct Loan - $615.3 million TIFIA loan will be repaid with sales/use, rental car, and motor vehicle taxes.
Financial Status / Financial Performance	The TIFIA credit agreement was signed on December 22, 2016. Principal repayment of the TIFIA loan will begin in 2021, and will amortize through final maturity anticipated in 2056.
Innovations	The project is the first of four projects included as part of a Master Credit Agreement, a first-of-its-kind arrangement authorized under MAP-21 in which the local transit authority will be able to expedite multiple loan requests under a single agreement with the federal government. The Roosevelt Station will offer 53,000 square feet of adjacent land available for transit-oriented development.
Related Links / Articles	Northgate Link Extension Project Website Sound Transit 2 Plan and Project List USDOT TIFIA MCA Press Release
Contacts	Tracy Butler Treasurer, Sound Transit >Tel: (206) 398-5000 tracy.butler@soundtransit.org