Transit Boom Meets Old Funding Logic

Seattle’s rapid light‑rail expansion—record ridership, a floating‑bridge line and multi‑billion dollar extensions—is colliding with 21st‑century cost realities: labor shortages, supply inflation and huge project overruns (Sound Transit’s ~$30B shortfall, Ballard leg doubling to $22B). Voter‑approved tax funding and legacy program timelines are proving brittle, forcing questions about permitting, procurement, workforce planning and how voters should finance megaprojects. — Cities attempting large transit investments must redesign public finance, permitting and industrial‑policy supports for modern construction realities or risk stalled projects, ballooned budgets and political backlash.