New University Link Project Offers 8-Minute Seattle to UW Commute

Students commuting from the University of Washington to downtown Seattle are about to have a much quicker and simpler commute. Starting March 19, the new $1.8 billion University Link project will be complete and will connect Westlake Station in downtown Seattle to the new University of Washington Station.

The current trip between UW’s Foster School and downtown Seattle takes around 30 minutes by bus and 10 minutes by car, if traffic isn’t an issue. The new underground train will cut the commute to just eight minutes, bypassing some of the region’s worst traffic.

The city hopes that the completion of the new line will boost light-rail ridership. In a news release, Sound Transit forecasts that University Link will add 71,000 riders to the system by 2030, bringing the system-wide total to 114,000 passengers.

The new station sits between the UW medical center and Husky Stadium, and the line has another station on Broadway at East John Street on Capitol Hill. The 3.1-mile Seattle-to-UW extension is opening six months ahead of schedule, and more than $150 million under budget. The Seattle Department of Transportation considers the new line a significant milestone for public transportation in the area.

Currently, a quarter of Seattle’s residents live within walking distance of a bus that comes every 12 minutes or less. Mayor Ed Murray said that by March, once all extensions of the bus and other transits are operational, he expects that 72% of all residents will live within walking distance of public transportation.

For UW and Foster School students, the new underground line will offer convenience and affordability. MBAs who live in the city will soon be able avoid paying for on-campus parking, and dinner or lunch in the city will become a much simpler prospect. The Medical Center and Husky Stadium sit on the south side of campus, near the lake front

regions: Seattle

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