SLUTs ain’t cheap

The costs of the South Lake Union Trolley (aka: The SLUT) are finally surfacing

After the South Lake Union streetcar opened two years ago, the city of Seattle spent $4.3 million more on the project — spending it didn’t announce but says it needed, mainly for utility work.

The project ended up costing the city $56.4 million. Most of the additional money went toward power lines, streetlights, wiring splices or drainage systems near the tracks. These were “opportunities to make repairs and upgrades” beyond what the city predicted when the project began, explains Ethan Melone, streetcar project director for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

Shiny red, orange and purple trains ply the 1.3-mile route between Westlake Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, carrying just more than 1,300 riders a day. Trains are typically less than half full, but the city expects big ridership growth as new employers arrive in the next decade.

When construction of the streetcar line began in July 2006, the city’s estimate was $50.5 million for construction and trains, including $2.4 million in SDOT money toward utilities. The total rose to $52.1 million by opening day, Dec. 12, 2007, the city acknowledged at the time.

But in the next few weeks, an additional $1.2 million was spent by SDOT and $3.1 million by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), internal spreadsheets and city-budget line items show.

Numbers like these amount to kibble in a wealthy city that builds some of the world’s most precious highway and rail megaprojects.

Still, the streetcar cost increase is sure to provoke some thought.

Thought about the real cost of a rail system? In Seattle?

Only by those who said it would be expensive and always cost more than it was worth. Rail lovers prefer to call people like that “Haters”. I call them “Me”.

If you plan a trip to Seattle in the future, make sure you take some time to ride our SLUT. We paid for it for you!