Price tag for Seattle's streetcar connector skyrockets even higher

Expanding Seattle’s streetcar along First Avenue would cost an estimated $445 million. That's an increase of $192 million from the city's last cost projection.

The streetcar system expansion — the "Culture Connector" — would connect the city's two other lines, in South Lake Union and First Hill. The new connection would operate in its own lane of traffic from Westlake to Pike Place Market, and to Pioneer Square.

A new consultant report states the additional line would likely cost more than three times the original 2015 estimate of $143 million. Consultants behind the report point to inflation and increased construction costs among factors in the latest, much higher price.

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It’s not the first time the price tag has gone up. After then-Mayor Jenny Durkan called for an outside cost review of the project, the 2018 estimate ballooned to $252 million.

Many proponents of the plan have said the First Avenue line would be the missing link, connecting the two other streetcar lines. Both of the city's streetcar lines have been plagued by low ridership from their beginning. Proponents hope that a connection would make the system function as a whole, boosting ridership.

Current Mayor Bruce Harrell has recently hyped the proposed connection, arguing that it would help foster an arts district in Seattle, and help revitalize downtown.

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Still, the project would be a massive undertaking at a time when far fewer people work in downtown office buildings, and when attendant ridership on the other streetcar lines still has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.