Community Transit will be building 30 Swift bus line stations, similar to this one in Everett, on the new Green Line. (Community Transit)

Community Transit will be building 30 Swift bus line stations, similar to this one in Everett, on the new Green Line. (Community Transit)

Infusion of federal money boosts the second Swift bus route

Community Transit’s second bus rapid transit line, from Bothell to Paine Field, is to open next year.

LYNNWOOD — Community Transit officials breathed a happy sigh of relief Monday upon learning a long-awaited $43.2 million federal grant is finally arriving.

Those dollars from the Federal Transit Administration will be used to complete construction of the Swift Green Line, Community Transit’s second bus rapid transit line that is scheduled to open early next year.

Congress approved the funding in May 2017. It is coming out of the federal agency’s Small Starts program through a competitive process. Small Starts is a component of the Capital Investment Grant program that President Donald Trump tried to eliminate but Congress resisted and funded instead.

“At times it has felt like we were running a marathon, but we’ve finally crossed the finish line,” Community Transit CEO Emmett Heath said.

Democratic U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell announced the release of funds in a joint statement.

“Snohomish County commuters just got a shot in the arm with more funding for Swift Bus Rapid Transit,” said Cantwell, a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “By expanding this critical transit service, commuters can expect increased reliability, improved travel times, and ultimately less congestion.”

Community Transit is starting work on its Swift Green Line to connect the aerospace center at Paine Field and Boeing’s Everett plant with the Canyon Park technology hub in Bothell. (Community Transit map)

Community Transit is starting work on its Swift Green Line to connect the aerospace center at Paine Field and Boeing’s Everett plant with the Canyon Park technology hub in Bothell. (Community Transit map)

Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has been pressuring the agency for months to free up the dollars. She also was involved in the negotiations to protect the grant program.

“As transit ridership increases, we must ensure our transportation systems are evolving to support our growing economy and keep our communities connected,” she said in the statement.

Community Transit spokesman Martin Munguia lauded the senators for their efforts.

“They have been our allies in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “That’s been very helpful.”

When Swift buses started running on the Blue Line down Highway 99 in 2009, it was the first bus rapid transit line in the state. The final station on that line opened in early 2016 near the entrance to Edmonds Community College.

The Swift Green Line will be a 12.5-mile east-west route and intersect with the Swift Blue Line.

When complete, Swift Green Line buses will run every 10 minutes between Bothell-Canyon Park and Boeing-Paine Field along the Bothell-Everett Highway, 128th and 132nd Streets and Airport Road. There will be a total of 34 stations.

Community Transit actually got started on the project the same month Congress passed the 2017 federal budget with the critical grant.

The agency broke ground on the Seaway Transit Center, an $11 million project funded with a $6.9 million state grant plus different federal dollars and Community Transit funds. The center is expected to be completed this year.

Last fall the agency got to work on building future Green Line stations. It has been paying for the work with local dollars generated from the sales tax increase approved by voters in 2015.

Munguia said Community Transit only acted after receiving letters from the federal agency that essentially were promissory notes. Those letters authorized the transit agency to spend up to a certain amount of its own money with the understanding those dollars would be paid back with the grant, he said.

The agency was closing in on that maximum amount, he said.

“We haven’t been been at a point where we’re panicking. Unless the Federal Transit Administration gave us the grant or gave us another promissory note, we might have had to shut down the project,” he said. “But we’re not worried any more.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

A pedestrian struck and killed by vehicle Wednesday in Everett

The pedestrian was a man in his 60s. The collision happened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Want coffee? Drink some with the Marysville mayor.

A casual question-and-answer session between mayor and constituents is planned for March 24.

Judge sentences man for role in human smuggling ring

Jesus Ortiz-Plata was arrested in Everett in May 2024. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 15 months in prison.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Bill Wood, right, Donnie Griffin, center right, and Steve Hatzenbeler, left, listen and talk with South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman, center left, during an Edmonds Civic Roundtable event to discuss the RFA annexation on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds community discusses annexation into the regional fire authority

About 100 residents attended the Edmonds Civic Roundtable discussion in preparation for the April special election.

Timothy Evans, a volunteer at the east Everett cold weather shelter, with his dog Hammer on Monday, Feb. 10 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Temporary shelter opens in Everett during unusually cold weather

The shelter will open nightly until Feb. 14. Help is needed at the new location, as well as six others across the county.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.