TriMet Appoints Bonnie Todd COO
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) has named Bonnie Todd COO; she is the first woman to hold the agency’s top operating job.
Sound Transit
Amtrak Service Returning to Point Defiance Bypass
Amtrak will resume Cascades service on the Point Defiance Bypass between Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., on Nov. 18, nearly four years after an overspeed derailment stopped service there.
People News: Sound Transit, HDR
Andy Izquierdo has joined Sound Transit as Chief Communications Officer, and Nathan Macek has taken on the role of Infrastructure Finance Director at HDR.
For Sound Transit, $275.3MM ARP Grant
The Federal Transit Administration has awarded Sound Transit a $275.3 million grant for COVID-19 response under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021.
Sound Transit Northgate Link LRT: ‘Welcome Aboard’ (Updated)
Sound Transit on Oct. 2 opened its 4.3-mile Northgate light rail extension, marking the start of the Seattle-metro-area transit system’s three-year plan to triple its light rail network from 22 to 62 miles.
Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff Stepping Down in May 2022
The Sound Transit Board on Sept. 23 voted not to approve a full one-year contract extension for Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. Chair Kent Keel said during the Board meeting that after more than six years of service, Rogoff recently informed Board members that “he did not foresee remaining in his role beyond the end of 2022”; Keel said he and others did not believe they should wait until 2022 to start searching for a new leader of the transit system serving the Seattle metro area.
Sound Transit: $3.84B in TIFIA Loans for Project Advancement
Sound Transit will receive up to $3.84 billion in Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans to finance the Downtown Redmond Link Extension and refinance five additional projects, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Sept. 17.
Transit Briefs: Metrolink, NY MTA, Santa Clara VTA, Sound Transit
The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) will test an Earthquake Early Warning System. In addition, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Sept. 10 unveiled the reconfigured 42nd Street Shuttle; California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) on Sept. 12 restored complete Blue Line light rail service; and Sound Transit on Sept. 13 kicked off its Fare Ambassador Pilot program.
Transit Briefs: Denver RTD; Sound Transit; WMATA; WSP-USA
Denver Regional Transit District’s (RTD) Board of Directors has adopted a new five-year strategic plan. In addition, Sound Transit is teaming with the city of Seattle to address homelessness; Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) will redevelop the West Falls Church (Va.) Metro Station site; and WSP USA’s Tanya Adams and Ruben Landa have been elected to the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials’ (COMTO) National Board for the 2021-23 term.
Sound Transit Adopts ‘Realignment’ Plan
Responding to a $6.5 billion affordability gap, the Sound Transit Board has adopted a realignment plan that guides delivery dates for voter-approved transit projects that are not already under construction.