The Sound Transit Board has selected the route, station locations and roadway improvements for Stride bus rapid transit on I-405 and SR-522/NE 145th. Stride BRT lines are scheduled to open in 2026 and 2027.
“With its fast, frequent and reliable service, Stride BRT will connect and unlock opportunity for the many thousands who live, work, learn and visit our dynamic and growing Eastside cities,” Sound Transit System Expansion Committee Chair and King County Council Chair Claudia Balducci said. “This action sets Stride BRT on course for its next phase of project development that will bring this much-needed service online in 2026 and 2027.”
Stride BRT will include three lines:
· S1 – 1-405 South from Burien to Bellevue, service scheduled to begin in 2026
· S2 – I-405 North from Bellevue to Lynnwood, service scheduled to begin in 2027
· S3 – SR 522/145th from Shoreline to Bothell (S3), service scheduled to begin in 2026
“Stride BRT will not only improve transit commutes for many thousands of riders on the I-405 and SR 522 corridors, but connect seamlessly to Link light rail at four separate stations and to local bus services,” said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. “Our work to expedite these improvements will include close collaboration with WSDOT, our regional transit partners and the many cities along the Stride routes.”
I-405 BRT
The Stride S1 and S2 lines will operate along a 37-mile corridor, primarily in the I-405 Express Toll Lanes from Bothell to Renton, with additional routing on general purpose lanes of I-5, SR 518, and local streets in Burien, Renton and Lynnwood.
The two lines will have a combined 11 stations, across eight cities with a transfer point at the Bellevue Transit Center. Passengers will be able to transfer to Link light rail at Tukwila, Bellevue, and Lynnwood, as well as to the Stride S3 line at a new transit hub in Bothell.
Stations include:
· Burien Transit Center
· Tukwila International Boulevard, connection to Link
· South Renton Transit Center
· NE 44th
· Bellevue Transit Center, Stride S1/S2 transfer point and connection to Link
· NE 85th
· Totem Lake/Kingsgate
· Brickyard
· SR 522/I-405 Transit Hub, connection to Stride S3
· Canyon Park
· Lynnwood City Center, connection to Link
The project includes parking, which was deferred in the Board’s realignment process:
· Expanded parking at the existing Kingsgate Park and Ride – scheduled for 2035
· New parking at NE 44th – scheduled for 2034
· New parking at South Renton Transit Center – 2034
SR 522/NE 145th BRT
The Stride S3 line will operate along a nine-mile corridor between the Shoreline South/148th Link light rail station and the SR 522/I-405 Transit Hub, with separate connecting service options to Woodinville. Buses will use Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes on SR 522, and BAT lanes, general purpose lanes and bus queue bypass lanes on SR 523/NE 145th Street.
There will be 12 stations across five cities, including:
· NE 145th Street at 15th Avenue NE
· NE 145th Street at 30th Avenue NE
· SR 522 at NE 153rd Street
· SR 522 at NE 165th Street
· SR 522 at Ballinger Way
· SR 522 at 61st Avenue NE
· SR 522 at 68th Avenue NE
· SR 522 at 73rd Avenue NE/Kenmore Park and Ride
· 98th Avenue NE at NE 182nd Street
· NE 185th Street at 104th Avenue NE
· Beardslee Boulevard at University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia College
· Beardslee Boulevard at NE 195th Street
Roadway improvements, including sidewalk improvements where roadways are widened will be made in Shoreline/Seattle, Lake Forest Park and Bothell.
In order to focus available financial capacity on expediting the opening of the new Stride lines, three planned park-and-ride facilities are scheduled to be opened later:
· New parking at the Lake Forest Park Town Center – scheduled for 2044
· Additional parking at the Kenmore Park-and-Ride lot, potentially delivered by King County Metro – scheduled for 2034
· New parking in downtown Bothell – scheduled for 2034
Sound Transit issued State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Determinations of Nonsignificance (DNS) for both projects, I-405 on Sept. 30, 2020 and SR 522/NE 145th on March 25, 2021. On I-405 BRT, Sound Transit has partnered with WSDOT on the design, environmental review, and delivery for some components of the project. Sound Transit is coordinating with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to prepare National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation to inform federal approval and/or grant funding decisions for elements of the project.
Both projects are approaching 30% design. Construction of some elements of the project have already begun.
The Sound Transit Board selected the Bus Rapid Transit Maintenance base project to be built in August 2021. The facility will be located in Bothell on the east side of 20th Avenue Southeast just south of 214th Street Southeast in the Canyon Park business park.
