Sound Transit presents draft EIS for Tacoma Link extension; Milton faces potential property, wetland and traffic impacts

Sound Transit officials on Jan. 13 told the Milton City Council study session that the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Tacoma Link extension is open for public comment through Feb. 10 and includes alignment and station options that could affect Milton.

"We are in the draft EIS phase," said Austin Nielsen, Government and Community Relations, Sound Transit, describing a process that began with early scoping in 2018 and added alternatives in 2023 after tribal consultation and environmental analysis. The Federal Transit Administration published the draft EIS on Dec. 13, 2024, and Sound Transit is accepting comment during a 60-day period.

The project would extend approximately 10 miles with four new stations and is currently at about 10% design, Nielsen said. Sound Transit estimates 24,000 to 36,000 daily riders on the extension and forecasts an opening in 2035 if the current schedule holds.

Cathy Liotta, project manager for the Tacoma Dome Link Extension (TDLE), outlined four alignment options through the South Federal Way segment that includes Milton: two that track primarily along I-5 (the I‑5 and Enchanted Parkway options) and two that follow Pacific Highway/SR 99 (99 East and 99 West). Liotta said the I‑5 and Enchanted Parkway options both affect a "highly sensitive cultural resource" the Puyallup Tribe has identified and that the tribe indicated "there's no amount of mitigation that would be sufficient to address those impacts."

Liotta said the Enchanted Parkway option would create the most residential displacements among the four options (40 corridor-wide) and that both 99 alternatives present "a large" degree of wetland impacts that the Corps of Engineers will scrutinize. The 99 West alignment would result in 14 residential displacements in Milton, including nine at Cedars RV Court and five at Spring Valley Mobile Home Park, and about 11 business displacements in Milton. The 99 East option would show fewer residential displacements in Milton (0) but greater wetland impacts and left-turn restrictions on SR 99 for roughly 0.9 miles, Liotta said.

Council members pressed for local detail. "I probably have a lot more questions than I can think of right now in the 20 minutes," Council member Whelan said, noting concerns about losing local businesses and long-term tax revenue. Council members also asked about alternatives that would avoid the tribal cultural resources and whether a median or elevated guideway in the center of I-5 had been explored; Sound Transit staff said they explored east‑side and other alternatives but that tribal-identified cultural resources exist on both sides of the interstate in the Fife curve area.

Sound Transit staff said no preferred alternative is currently selected for the Federal Way-to-Fife corridor because of the added route alternatives and tribal concerns. The agency expects the Sound Transit Board to confirm or modify a preferred alternative in Q2 2025 and publish a final EIS in 2027, after which design and construction timelines would be refined.

Sound Transit outlined outreach steps including mailed notices to properties affected by lines or stations, postcards to tenants and businesses within a half-mile of alignments, scheduled webinars and in-person open houses, and offers of one-on-one briefings.

Council members and staff noted they will provide local comments during the public comment period and asked Sound Transit to return with more detailed briefings and maps for Milton-specific impacts.

Ending: The council did not take formal action; Sound Transit staff said the draft EIS comment period closes Feb. 10 and the agency will share submitted comments with the Sound Transit Board during its consideration of a preferred alternative in 2025.