S Holgate St Crossing Study

August 2025

Project Description

S Holgate St is a busy road in Seattle’s SODO (South of Downtown) area. The street is part of the Duwamish Manufacturing and Industrial Center, which is crucial for freight and supply chain operations in the region. Every day, the railroad crossing sees heavy traffic from freight trains, commuter trains, and Amtrak. This high activity makes it one of the riskiest rail crossings in Washington State.

A $2 million federal grant via the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program is funding this project, along with support from state and local programs. The goal is to find ways to make the crossing safer and more efficient for everyone—drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and businesses.

We’re partnering with groups like BNSF Railway, Amtrak, Sound Transit, and the Port of Seattle. Together, we’re exploring solutions that will improve safety and update infrastructure to handle future changes.

Project Map 

Context map showing project study area within King County in Washington State.

Map showing S Holgate St At-Grade Crossing Study Area.


Enlarged study area map showing the S Holgate St at-grade crossing, as well as existing businesses, streets, and railroad lines. 

Project Background

Amtrak Cascades is planning to upgrade its passenger rail service between Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland. The plans include adding more storage for new trains and expanding maintenance facilities to work on both Amtrak and Sound Transit Sounder trains. To support these changes, six new tracks are expected to be built across S Holgate St, increasing the total tracks in the area from nine to fifteen. This expansion will significantly increase train traffic at the S Holgate St crossing throughout the day.

BNSF and Amtrak are asking the City of Seattle to permanently close S Holgate St between Occidental Ave S and 3rd Ave S to manage the impacts of this expansion. The current study explores ways to accommodate these changes while making the area safer for everyone, including drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

This study builds on work completed in 2010, updated to reflect changes in the area, like the opening of the S Lander St overpass in 2020. Future plans, like the expansion of Sound Transit’s Link light rail, are also being considered. Some of the possible solutions being evaluated include:

• Improving safety and traffic flow at the current rail crossings.
• Closing S Holgate St at the rail crossing and redirecting traffic to other streets.
• Building a bridge or tunnel to separate the street from the train tracks.

This study will help decide the best approach to handle the increased rail activity while prioritizing safety for everyone traveling through the area.

Working Together

We’re committed to involving the community every step of the way. This includes working with agencies, tribal governments, local businesses, and sports teams in the area. A Technical Work Group (TWG), made up of project partners and experts, will guide the study and review the options.

TWG members will be briefed on and engaged in the following activities: 

• Identify project goals that support the purpose and need.  
• Identify and share relevant data that can help the City understand and evaluate project area conditions, potential impacts, and benefits.
• Advise on outreach opportunities to ensure a broadly informed process.
• Provide feedback on the project’s evaluation criteria and concepts and consider other stakeholder and community feedback gathered by the project team.
• Share insights and comments to assist the project team in documenting the associated costs, risks, benefits, and trade-offs of alternatives which are feasible, and determining a list of evaluated alternatives evaluated which are not feasible.  
• Recommend a preferred alternative package that best meets the project purpose, need, and goals for consideration by SDOT Director and Mayor.

Up to eight (8) meetings/workshops will be held with TWG members to share information, discuss perspectives, and identify areas of convergence and divergence on key issues. 

Invited participants include: 

• Amtrak
• BNSF Railway
• Port of Seattle
• Northwest Seaport Alliance
• Washington State Department of Transportation
• Sound Transit
• SODO Business Improvement Area
• First & Goal/Seattle Seahawks
• Sounders/Reign
• Mariners
• Washington State Ballpark Public Facilities District
• Washington State Public Stadium Authority
• Tribal Governments 

Funding 

This project is supported by:

• Federal Grant ($2 million) from the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program.
• State Grant ($400,000) from Washington State’s Move Ahead Washington Program.
• Additional Funding from Seattle’s Freight Railroad Crossing Spot Improvements Program.

The Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program is an inaugural federal grant program aimed at helping communities eliminate points where railroad tracks intersect roads, leading to traffic jams, collisions, and safety concerns. This initiative is a part of President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The WSDOT Move Ahead Washington funding will add support to existing programs such as the Rail Crossing Elimination Grant Program and lead to the development of new programs.  

Our goal is to create a plan that aligns with Vision Zero—an initiative to eliminate traffic related deaths and serious injuries.

Project Schedule

The study began in 2024 and will wrap up by end of summer 2026. 

Learn More 

You can find more information and resources by reviewing the study fact sheet and signing up for email updates. If you have questions, you can contacting Public Engagement Lead Ching Chan at (206) 775-8739 or emailing SouthHolgateStudy@Seattle.gov. 

Materials 

Factsheet (English)

• Factsheet (Simplified Chinese)
• Factsheet (Traditional Chinese)
• Factsheet (Spanish)
• Factsheet (Vietnamese)
• Factsheet (Tagalog)
• Factsheet (Korean)

S Holgate St At-Grade Crossing Elimination Study grant application