Cost of Sound Transit's light-rail tunnel now at nearly $2 billion

In a reflection of tunneling woes around the country, Sound Transit is boosting the budget for its three-mile tunnel from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington by $142 million, to $1.95 billion.

The change was ordered by the Federal Transit Administration, which points to seven other projects that had cost increases or overruns, including the Beacon Hill rail tunnel in Seattle. Rising prices for concrete, steel and fuel, and a limited number of tunneling firms, cause financial risk.

Still, the project remains affordable, and major bids are due next year, said Ahmad Fazel, director of Sound Transit light rail.

Fazel said federal overseers are satisfied with Sound Transit's engineering work, and FTA will pay for $63 million of the $142 million cushion. That brings the federal contribution to a total $813 million, or 42 percent of the total cost of construction, trains and financing through opening day in 2016.

The FTA supports the tunnel because it would serve high numbers of riders at the Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium stations. Detractors say the huge cost drains money from alternatives such as express buses.

Other transit agencies are being told to boost their tunneling budgets, said FTA spokesman Paul Griffo.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com