Sound Transit presents DEIS for Tacoma Dome Link Extension; Fife station and three alignment options under review

Sound Transit officials presented the Tacoma Dome Link Extension (TDLE) draft environmental impact statement to the Fife City Council on Jan. 14, saying the document and an extended public-comment period are intended to help the Sound Transit Board confirm a preferred alternative later this year.

The DEIS covers a 10-mile extension from Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome and includes four new stations, one of which is proposed for Fife. Austin Nielsen, Sound Transit’s government and community relations lead for Pierce County, said the agency projects 24,000–36,000 daily riders on the corridor and currently estimates a 2035 opening for full service, with parking at the Fife and South Federal Way stations opening later under the agency’s realignment schedule.

Why it matters: The draft EIS identifies tradeoffs among three elevated alignment alternatives through Fife — a median alignment along Pacific Highway (SR 99), an I‑5 alignment and a Fife median alignment — and shows the preferred Fife station location is most consistent with the city’s Fife City Center…