Murray: “We will no longer have to wait years for light rail to come to Bellevue—instead it will be here every ten minutes!”
***PHOTOS AND B-ROLL of today’s event HERE***
Bellevue, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, attended the grand opening of the East Link Light Rail Starter Line. This new service will provide 6.6 miles of east-west connections between Redmond and Bellevue. The full East Link will open in 2025 and run 14.5 miles between Seattle and Redmond. In 2013, Murray secured a $14 million grant under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program that she created—which is now the RAISE grant program—for the East Link project.
Murray was joined at the grand opening ceremony by Senator Maria Cantwell; Governor Jay Inslee; Redmond Mayor Angela Birney; Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson; Goran Sparrman, Interim CEO of Sound Transit; Donny Stevenson, Vice-Chairman of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe; Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft; Beryl Tomay, Senior Vice President of Transportation at Amazon; Monty Anderson, Executive Secretary of the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council; Paul Kincaid, Associate Administrator for Communications and Congressional Affairs for the Federal Transit Administration; and Claudia Balducci, King County Councilmember among others.
“Public transit is a top priority for people across Washington state, so it’s a top priority for me—and I’m proud to have fought for, and won, crucial investments in our state’s public transit system,” said Senator Murray. “I have a long history with this project, and remember some pretty tough times a couple decades ago fighting alongside Joni Earl to ensure there was a future for Sound Transit—that future is here now, and it is so bright. I am so excited to be here today, and to be able to tell everyone we will no longer have to wait years for light rail to come to Bellevue—instead it will be here every ten minutes!”
“Delivering the federal dollars to support Puget Sound’s incredible expansion of public transit has not been easy, but as long as I serve as the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee—it’s going to be a priority for the federal government,” Murray said.
Murray has long been a supporter of the East Link extension, attending the groundbreaking in 2016 after securing a $14 million TIGER Grant for the project in 2013. Murray established the TIGER grants program in 2009, which later became the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. Last summer, Murray announced a record nearly $133 million in RAISE funding for projects across Washington state—Washington was awarded the most RAISE grants of any state and received the most in total funding. Senator Murray notably helped secure $7.5 billion for the RAISE program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as prepared, are below:
“Thank you, I am absolutely thrilled to be joining you all for this ribbon cutting. I have been championing this project for years!
“Public transit is a top priority for people across Washington state, so it’s a top priority for me—and I’m proud to have fought for, and WON, crucial investments in our state’s public transit system through our annual funding bills as Appropriations Chair in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and really at every opportunity I can!
“So it is incredibly rewarding to be here to watch federal dollars I secured go to work for our families, and see this project finally become a reality.
“I have a long history with this project, and remember some pretty tough times a couple decades ago fighting alongside Joni Earl to ensure there was a future for Sound Transit. That future is here now, and it is so bright and I couldn’t be prouder to be your partner in this effort.
“With these eight new stations, we are opening countless doors for families and commuters across the area. And this is truly just the tip of the iceberg—especially given the way the East Link Extension will plug families into other transportation options—like bike trails and bus routes. There are still even bigger plans just around the corner for this light rail line! Now, as everyone will no doubt tell you, this new light rail has been a LONG time coming!
“That’s why I am so excited to be here today and to be able to tell everyone, we will no longer have to wait YEARS for light rail to come to Bellevue—instead it will be here every ten minutes!
“Thank you to everyone who worked with me to make this happen—this truly has been a partnership at every level across the Puget Sound, the entire state, and all the way to the Other Washington.
“Delivering the federal dollars to support Puget Sound’s incredible expansion of public transit has not been easy, but as long as I serve as the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee—it’s going to be a priority for the federal government.
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