The long-awaited RapidRide G Line project is finally getting underway. The 2.1-mile line will run from 1st Avenue in Downtown Seattle to Martin Luther King Jr Way in Madison Valley, providing very frequent service along the Madison Street corridor in 2024. Along the way, the line will serve First Hill and Capitol Hill, which are some of the densest areas of the city. The project will also deliver other on-board and off-board features that benefit riders and service speed and reliability.
On Thursday, Nuria Fernandez, who is Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony at Capitol Hill’s Mount Zion Baptist Church and naturally took a bus to reach it. “By making it easier to board, easier to pay, and ensuring more buses per hour, the RapidRide G Line will better connect the people of Seattle, encouraging more people to get on board,” she said. “FTA is proud to join our partners in the Seattle area to expand the bus rapid transit network in western Puget Sound.” Fernandez was one of many officials present for the groundbreaking, which is a testament to the sheer number of partner agencies that are funding the $133.4 million project.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan praised federal sponsors, who weren’t present, for their support and highlighted the importance of the project. “While Seattle builds the best transit and transportation infrastructure in the country, support from our federal partners has become even more critical,” she said. “Senator Murray, Secretary Buttigieg, and the federal delegation have prioritized projects that are good for Seattle, good for jobs, and good for transit. Senator Murray has been relentless in her support of this critical project and other City and regional priorities. As we deal with the effects of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to invest in a transportation system that gets our frontline workers, historically underserved communities and communities of color where they need to go quickly and reliably.”
